Just Keep Smiling
by Artemis Day
Summary: AU.  Orsay brought a little extra help for Teresa's execution, and though she still survived, the Organization did gain a prize: Clare.
1. Prologue

**A/N: First Claymore fic, yay!**

* * *

From Orsay's perspective, Teresa of the Faint Smile, formerly known as the Organization's number one soldier, looked every bit like the fallen warrior she was. She stood stock still, surrounded by her former comrades, her head slightly bowed, and her eyes closed. Orsay kept a firm hold on the little human girl's arms, she had tried more than once to run to Teresa. Now, she simply screamed her mentor's name over and over again in ever increasing desperation. Orsay gave a tiny smile.

"It's regrettable, Teresa," he said.

"I suppose," the blonde beauty answered, moving only her mouth.

The girl continued screaming, grating more and more on Orsay's nerves. He would have just knocked her out, but the sadistic side of him wanted her to see the death of her dear friend. Besides, where she was going, it wasn't like this would be the worst thing she'd ever see.

"I'm quite shocked myself," Teresa continued. "I never thought this would happen to me, that I of all people would lose my head in such a way. All I wanted to do was protect the girl. I would have done anything to keep her safe, even break the organization's most important rule. It was all for her."

_'Lovely speech,' _Orsay thought sardonically.

"TERESA! TERESA!" The girl screamed again, she really was getting annoying.

For the first time since their conversation began, Teresa looked up and locked eyes with her former handler.

"There's just one thing I would like to know," she stated. "What will happen to Clare once this is over?"

Orsay smirked. "It's no longer your concern, Teresa, but know that the organization will take care of her."

Teresa lowered her head again. "I understand."

Orsay's smile faded, and his face became grave. Inside though, he was still smirking. Teresa thought she was so smart, tricking him like this. He knew what she intended to do, he had been her handler for years and though she may not know it, he could read her like a book. She wasn't going to just let the soldiers kill her, especially now that she had this girl, Clare she'd called her, to fight for. Orsay also knew that since Teresa had no plans to die just yet, there was no way these five could take her down.

That was why he had his Plan B already set up. In the end, there was only one Claymore with the ability to take Teresa down, and out the corner of his eye, he could see her already in place. Her yoki was practically nothing, not even the official executioners knew she was there. She stood completely still, waiting for Orsay's signal. Teresa of the Faint Smile would die today, whether she accepted it or not.

* * *

Teresa made a point to memorize the names and ranks of all the Organization's warriors. It might sound strange that someone as anti-social as she would know such things, but she considered it more of a survival tactic than actually caring.

Teresa was not stupid, nor was she so cocky that she believed she could never be defeated by anyone just because she was number 1. That, she knew, could at any time change.

The one behind her was Candace, currently ranked number 7. She was an offensive warrior, though despite her rank, she had no special attacks and no fancy nickname.

To the right was Margret, number 11, her yoki reading abilities were quite good, though nowhere near as good as Teresa's.

Next was Natasha, number 13. Like Candace, she was really nothing special, but she was 100% loyal to the organization, and so she was rewarded for her blind servitude.

Estelle, number 14, was a defensive warrior unlike the other four. It surprised Teresa that she had been chosen for this particular assignment, until she remembered that she and Estelle had been in the same class of 'recruits', and that the girl had always been jealous of her skill. Teresa smirked inwardly, Estelle really was pathetic.

Finally, there was Rebecca, number 20. Once again, just a run of the mill Claymore.

She could almost laugh at how easy this would be, and it took all her will power not to call out to Clare that everything was fine. The soldiers got into position. The time to strike was now.

"TERESA! NO TERESA, DON'T LET THEM KILL YOU!" Clare screamed in vain.

"I'm sorry Clare," Teresa whispered. "Farewell…"

"TERESA!" Clare screamed a final time as the five soldiers struck.

For a short, tense moment, no one moved. They had gone in for the kill, Teresa hadn't moved a muscle. One thing was noticeably off though; her sword, which had been sheathed, was now in her hand. She had a little smile on her face as her former comrades fell to the ground, bleeding and in pain.

Orsay looked completely gob smacked, just as she'd expected. She smirked.

"Their wounds aren't deep, they'll be alright."

Teresa glanced at the stunned organization member. "Sorry, but I'm not going to die just yet."

By now, Clare had finally pulled herself free from Orsay's grip, and ran crying into Teresa's arms.

Orsay growled angrily. "Teresa, what is the meaning of this?"

The warrior in question simply placed her hand on Clare's head. "I have a reason to live now, it's this girl. From now on, I'll live for her."

Teresa took Clare's hand as the girl used her free one to wipe her tears away. As they walked past Orsay, Teresa missed the small smile that appeared on his face.

"You will regret this, Teresa."

"I have no reason to," she replied.

He chuckled. This action surprised Teresa and once again put her on guard.

"Is that so?"

At that moment, Teresa felt a sudden burst of yoki energy. She turned to face her surprise opponent, but they were too fast. The last thing Teresa saw before everything went dark was a pair of silver eyes lined by white blonde hair that was tied back. The last thing she heard was Clare screaming.

* * *

Orsay grinned. The secret soldier stood before Teresa's unconscious form. Clare was screaming again.

"TERESA! WAKE UP, TERESA! TERESA!" She hollered, shaking the warrior's unmoving form.

"Hilary," Orsay addressed the soldier who'd taken Teresa down. "Do you mind?"

Hilary nodded silently, knelt down to face Clare and with a swift motion of her hand, knocked her out as well.

"Excellent work, Hilary, you certainly deserve that promotion you're getting."

She nodded once again. "Yes, I believe 12 is my new rank, correct?"

Orsay nodded, "It's quite a change from 17, I'm sure. Now then, I think it's time we finish Teresa off."

Hilary stood back up and gazed at the fallen warrior. With her foot, she moved the human girl out of the way and raised her sword, presumably to strike the killing blow. Orsay grinned in anticipation; he'd been waiting all day for this. His glee, however, quickly changed to confusion and shock when Hilary simply resheathed her sword, picked up the child, and walked away. Approaching Orsay, she casually dropped the girl in front of him and continued walking.

"You were going to take her back to the Organization, I believe. Better hurry before she wakes up and tries to run," she remarked.

"What are you doing?" Orsay hissed, trying and failing to keep his anger under control. "Why didn't you kill her?"

Hilary glanced back at the fallen Teresa and shrugged. "I would, but it goes against my code."

"What code?" Orsay shouted.

"_My_code," Hilary reiterated. "I won't kill an opponent who can't fight back. It isn't sportsmanlike and it isn't fun. Anyway, even if Teresa was conscious to fight, there's no way I could take her. She'd kill me in two seconds."

"You knocked her out didn't you?" Orsay argued desperately.

"It was luck," Hilary answered. "You and I both know that if Teresa hadn't let her guard down, I'd never have been able to get a hit on her. My so-called 'special attack' only works for about ten seconds at best, and though it may be powerful, even then Teresa could beat me. Not to mention the fact that using it takes so much energy out of me. That's why I only use it on special occasions such as this one.

"You told me to come and intervene if she tried to fight back, and I've done so, it's their own fault for getting so badly injured. As such, I've carried out my orders. If you'd wanted me to kill her, you should have said so."

"I'm saying so now!"

"And I'm saying no."

Orsay gritted his teeth in anger, "So then, you'd go against a direct order from a Superior? That would be seen as treasonous."

The unspoken threat lingered in the air, but Hilary only smiled.

"Yes, I suppose it would. Just like your involvement in the disaster at Cammory would."

Orsay gasped in shock.

"You- How- You," he sputtered.

Her smile widened. "I see you remember. Now, we certainly don't want the higher ups to find out about that, would we?"

"They'd never believe you!"

She took a step closer. "Are you sure?"

Hilary smirked when Orsay bowed his head in defeat. His fists were shaking with pent up rage. While he knew that Hilary, like many of their other warriors, held no love for the organization, she was smart enough to know her limits and understood that disobeying orders would inevitably lead to her death. Even so, it seemed this obedience only went as far as her 'code' would allow.

As for her threats, he normally wouldn't have heeded such words, but Cammory was different. The higher-ups had always suspected him of having some involvement in the catastrophe, but never found any evidence against him. If Hilary, a survivor of the disaster who's word would be taken without question, spoke up however…

Orsay glanced at his surroundings. The five soldiers who were supposed to kill Teresa had been wounded in such a way that they wouldn't be able to even lift their swords for at least a few days. There was nothing that could be done.

Orsay took a deep breath. "Teresa ran away after disabling her executioners. We did, however, get the human girl she was traveling with. I'll arrange for numbers 2 through 5 to take care of Teresa," he looked up at Hilary's face. "I brought you without telling them, so you were never here, understand?"

Hilary smiled, then gave Orsay a mock salute as he picked up the Organization's newest 'recruit'.

"Perfectly."

* * *

Teresa groaned in pain as she slowly woke up. For a moment, she couldn't remember what had happened or why she was lying in the dirt. Then as it all rushed back to her, she sprang to her feet, a single word on her lips.

"Clare."

It was dark out, she'd probably been unconscious for hours. Teresa searched for any sign of yoki energy and found absolutely nothing.

Orsay and the others were gone, and they'd taken Clare with them. With an enraged scream, Teresa fell to her knees.

"CLAAAARE!"

* * *

**A/N: This is just a prologue, so the next chapter will be a lot longer. It's already been written, but I probably won't post it for a few days.**

**Don't forget to review.**

**Ciao!**


	2. 01: The Loss of a Loved One

Orsay stood nervously before the head members of the Organization. The girl he brought had already been taken down to the operating room, however nothing more had been done with her as of yet. It was her fate that the council was currently deliberating on.

"With Teresa still alive, we can't risk letting the girl out of our sights. We should just kill her now and get it over with," one member suggested.

"But that would be a complete waste. She's a perfectly healthy young girl and besides, if word got out that we intentionally killed a human, there'd be chaos." Another argued.

"He's right," said a third. "The public's trust in us is shaky enough as it is. Our best option is to just go ahead with the operation."

"But if she becomes a soldier," replied the first speaker. "Who's to say she won't just run off as soon as she's recovered and try to find Teresa?"

The debate continued and Orsay was feeling more and more out of place by the second. He was a handler, not very high up the ladder within the hierarchy despite what one might think. The only handler with any real standing among the higher-ups was Rubel, and Orsay never liked him all that much. Despite supposedly being trustworthy and a hardworking and loyal worker, something about him always bothered Orsay. It had to be that smile of his, it was just so... wrong.

As the arguing grew louder, Orsay sunk farther and farther back into his chair, wishing that something would happen to make the fighting stop.

Right then, the door slammed open, and in walked the answer to his prayers.

"Gentlemen!" The man in question shouted, getting everyone's attention immediately.

Orsay didn't recognize the man but judging from his long white cloak, he was one of the doctors on staff. He wasn't a particularly tall man, around five feet at the most. He looked as though he hadn't eaten in days, his skinned was stretched across his bones like a pair of tights. His stringy white hair was unkempt and dirty looking and his bright blue eyes gave off a vibe of derangement. His teeth, visible as he grinned, were surprisingly white and straight, like he dedicated all his spare time to caring for them.

Orsay heard an Organization head sneer. "What do you want, Elgiz? Can't you see we're busy?"

The man called Elgiz grinned wider. "My apologies, I just noticed you have a new patient for me, and I haven't been able to operate on her yet. I was simply wondering if there was a problem with her."

The head members studied the leery eyed doctor.

"She was traveling with the former Number 1, Teresa of the Faint Smile," said another member. "We believe this girl is the reason Teresa broke the rules and killed those humans."

"We are unsure then just what to do with her," the member who'd suggested killing her spoke. " If she were to run the second she awoke from surgery, there will have been no point in it, wouldn't you agree?"

The Organization members probably expected Elgiz to deflate, lose his extremely creepy smile, then bow his head to his superiors and walk away like a good employee.

Instead, his grin turned manic.

"_Really? _Well why didn't to just say so?" Elgiz practically screamed. "What you need is a guarantee that she will stay within the ranks and not try to run. Gentlemen, I can give you that guarantee."

Gasps were heard from almost everyone, including Orsay.

"Oh?" droned one impressed member. "And how exactly can you do that Elgiz?"

Orsay didn't think the doctor could smile any wider, he was wrong.

"It's actually a very simple procedure. I've been working on it in my spare time, a little pet project if you will," Elgiz was barely trying to hide his glee.

He spent the next few minutes explaining his method and how it could be carried out. The Organization members went from weary, to interested, to utterly amazed. Though most kept their composure, some openly gawked at the insane doctor and at least one looked close to fainting.

"C-Can you actually do that?" One member asked incredulously.

Elgiz nodded with fervor. "Absolutely, I'm 90 percent sure it will work."

Some members deflated at that.

"And the other 10 percent?" Someone asked.

"She'll wind up brain dead and completely useless," Elgiz answered matter-of-factly.

This caused faint murmuring to ripple throughout the group and Elgiz had just enough sense to realize he needed to do some damage control fast.

"Like I said, there's only a ten percent shot it will happen and even if it does, you simply say she died on the table, that wouldn't be a lie."

The murmuring by now had stopped, Orsay could tell they were all silently deliberating. He honestly didn't care what they did with the girl, he just wanted to leave and get as far away from the Organization heads and this 'doctor' as possible.

Finally, one member near the center of the room spoke. "Alright, majority rules, all those who support the use of this method say I."

More than half spoke the affirmative.

"Those who oppose?"

More 'I's', but far fewer. Elgiz looked like he was about to wet himself with glee. The head member nodded.

"So be it," he confirmed. "Elgiz, you are free to go ahead with your experiment and to use the girl."

"Oh, thank you sir," Elgiz joyously cried. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

He gave a loud, girlish laugh and started to run out, then suddenly stopped and turned back around.

"I almost forgot," he called out. "I'll need to know the girl's name."

Everyone then looked to Orsay, who shrunk back. He very much did not want any attention after all that'd happened.

"I-I heard Teresa call her Clare."

Elgiz blinked, quickly making the connection to the religious tales almost everyone there knew, but few believed. Then his trademark grin made another appearance.

"Clare, huh? How ironic."

He laughed his head off all the way down the hall.

As soon as he was out of hearing range, the meeting continued.

"Now that that's settled, we'll get to our next matter," The head member said, bringing everyone back to reality. "Orsay, you say that Teresa ran off after her executioners failed to kill her, is that right?"

Orsay fought with himself not to show any fear. "Yes, that's what happened."

"Leaving the girl behind," the man continued.

"Yes, sir."

The head member smirked, a chuckle of his own escaping his lips. "And here we all thought Teresa actually cared for the human."

"Once a monster, always a monster," another remarked.

He was met with murmurs of agreement all around the table.

"I'm sending numbers 2 through 5 to take care of Teresa, they should be on their way as we speak," Orsay explained.

"Good." The head member said with a nod, "You may go now, Orsay."

Orsay, relieved to finally be getting out of there, nodded his head and began to leave the room at a slightly too quick pace.

"Oh, and Orsay?"

The hooded man froze and turned back around.

"Yes, sir?"

The head member put on a tiny smile. "Just in case, tell them that should Teresa bring up the girl to them, they are to inform her that she is dead."

Orsay was rather uncomfortable with that particular command.

_'Why would they ask that after what I just told them?' _He wondered fearfully. _'Could they have seen through my lie? No, no that can't be. I'd be dead right now if they did.'_

Though his inner monologue continued, Orsay was aware enough to nod his head and softly answer.

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Teresa spent the next few days hiding in the woods. Several days earlier, she had gone through a small town in disguise and wound up having to kill a youma that'd been lurking about. To her surprise, she had been met not with the hate and scorn she was used to, but gratitude. They had even cheered for her, and she had to admit it felt kind of nice to be appreciated rather than feared for once.

It didn't matter though, all her thoughts were focused on finding Clare. She knew the child had probably been taken back to the Organization headquarters, which would make rescuing her extremely difficult. Getting into HQ undetected would be fairly easy if she kept her yoki down to nothing and moved fast. Getting out, especially while trying to protect Clare, would be the hard part. She realized that she would probably have to kill some of her former comrades, and while she was never really close to any of them, the thought of them dying by her hand left a bad taste in her mouth.

And then there was the possibility that Clare was already…no, she couldn't afford to think like that. Teresa pushed away the little voice in her head that reminded her of how very likely it was that she'd already undergone the operation. A mental image of Clare with her long brown hair drained of color and her big green eyes changed to cold silver crossed her mind, making her shiver. Then, as if that thought wasn't bad enough, Teresa began to wonder if Clare would even survive the procedure.

A small part of her thought that it might be better that way, at least then Clare wouldn't have to live the kind of life Teresa did, and she'd be at peace in the next world, with her family.

Teresa shook her head wildly, cursing herself for even daring to think that way. She swore that she would save Clare no matter what, even if she had to give her own life to do so. Clare would NOT suffer the fate of the Claymores.

It was about that moment Teresa felt three rather familiar yoki signatures headed her way. She smiled slightly, wondering what had been keeping them. She'd expected Orsay to have sent them days ago. Teresa stood up, using the tree she'd been leaning against as leverage. Her sword remained in its sheath, but her hand was already clenching as if she held it, ready for the battle to come.

As they approached, Teresa decided to be friendly for a change and go out to greet him. She stepped out from behind the trees, stopping the trio of her fellow high classed warriors in their tracks. She could tell they were surprised that she had come to find them like this. Teresa smiled.

"Irene, Noel, Sophia," she greeted them, "Nice to see you again."

"We've come to take your head, Teresa.," Irene coolly informed her.

Teresa nodded. "You don't beat around the bush, do you Irene?"

The former no. 1 turned her gaze to the other two 'executioners'

"I see they've sent numbers 2 through 4 after me this time, can't say I'm not surprised."

"Actually," Sophia piped up. "They sent 2 through 5."

This surprised Teresa a bit. "Oh? So then where is number 5? I believe that's Elda, but I don't see her anywhere."

Noel shook her head. "No, Elda's not number 5 anymore, just as I am no longer number 4."

Teresa caught a hint of bitterness in the girl's tone, but was more concerned with this new development.

"The Organization has promoted a new soldier to my former rank of 2," Irene explained.

Teresa raised an eyebrow. "I see, and where is she?"

"I'm right here."

Teresa whirled around and almost gasped aloud. The girl before her was definitely a Claymore, but Teresa hadn't felt any yoki energy at all from her. She still couldn't in fact.

"My name is Priscilla," the girl introduced herself. "I am currently ranked number 2 in the Organization."

Teresa eyed the girl named Priscilla. She wasn't particularly tall or intimidating looking, really she looked like a little kid more than a number 2. Where it not for her Organization uniform and silver eyes, Teresa would think she was just some bleached blonde human girl with a sword. Someone like this had to be very powerful, especially if she'd been promoted so incredibly high after almost no time at all.

As she examined the girl, a question popped into her mind.

"You had the perfect opportunity to attack me just now, why didn't you?"

"Because then it wouldn't have been a fair fight." Priscilla answered, her tone becoming colder with every word. "I know _you_don't understand how rules work, Ms. Teresa, but I do."

Teresa almost laughed at the girl, she could already tell Priscilla was brainwashed beyond all hope by the Organization. "I don't understand rules you say?"

Priscilla nodded. "You killed those human, breaking the one rule that keeps civilian's trust in us, and then you failed to accept the punishment for what you've done. The Organization worked hard to instill the people's trust in us. Without that trust, we would crumble and the world would be left to the youma. Can't you see that you've jeopardized all that the Organization worked for with your actions?"

Teresa listened to Priscilla's words, her trademark smile returning to her face. "You do a good job trying to justify the Organization's logic."

She pulled out her sword, ready for the coming fight. "But one day you'll learn the real world isn't that black and white."

Teresa readied herself to fight Priscilla, and noticed the other three reaching for their swords, clearly intending to assist their comrade. They didn't even notice her move and before they knew it, Irene, Sophia and Noel were all down, their shoulders bleeding heavily.

"Sorry about that," Teresa said, flicking the stray bits of blood off her sword. "I'd just prefer it if this fight were left to me and Priscilla."

"Y-You bitch!" Noel hissed angrily.

"I agree with Teresa," Priscilla said, much to the older warriors' surprise, "I'd rather this is between the two of us as well."

Irene gaped for a moment at the two of them, but begrudgingly nodded in agreement all the same. Sophia and Noel could only watch in anger as the two strongest warriors began their fight.

* * *

Hilary laid on the cold, hard floor of her room. Her eyes were closed but she was far from asleep. She took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling slowly.

"Irene…" she whispered. "Sophia…Noel…Priscilla…I wonder how many of you…"

Her eyes opened.

"…will make it out alive."

* * *

Teresa dodged Priscilla's sword for the umpteenth time. The fight had been going on for a good three minutes now and Teresa could happily say the Priscilla hadn't gotten a single hit on her. Unfortunately, Teresa hadn't gotten one on her either.

Teresa jumped onto a sturdy tree branch to avoid yet another swing of Priscilla's sword. Down below, she could hear Noel screaming something, but didn't care enough to listen. Priscilla followed her into the trees and slashed her sword again; Teresa dodged in time, but she knew Priscilla had come close to cutting her open.

On one hand, Teresa was becoming frustrated, angry and, dare she say it, scared. She couldn't recall ever having this challenging an opponent, and what a challenge she was. Her lack of yoki meant that Teresa couldn't predict any of her attacks. She was left to rely on her physical skill alone for the first time in years. Not that she couldn't hold her own, it was just that this particular fight was far more than a regular youma hunt.

On the other hand, part of Teresa couldn't help but be thrilled by this fight; it was almost enjoyable in a way, battling someone like this. That element of excitement was there, but Teresa knew this wasn't meant to be fun. Priscilla had been sent to kill her and clearly had every intention of doing just that. The poor, brainwashed girl.

Teresa landed back on the ground the same time as Priscilla. Both struck in perfect synchronization, sparks flying off their gleaming swords. The fighters barely paid attention as Irene, Noel, and Sophia healed their wounds because all three seemed to realize this fight was far over their heads (not that it stopped Noel from trying to rush Teresa when her back was turned; Irene and Sophia quickly restrained her).

Priscilla blocked another one of Teresa's attacks and took the opportunity to jab at her stomach. The former number 1 parried to the side, but Priscilla's sword did manage to leave a shallow cut on her side.

Teresa cursed under her breath. She ducked again and swept Priscilla's feet out from under her, sending the smaller girl to the ground. Priscilla grunted and again swung her sword, but Teresa had already made her next move. She came at the girl from behind, Priscilla barely had time to get out of the way. Somehow though, she evaded the blow, jumping to her feet and vanishing from sight. Teresa clicked her tongue in annoyance.

The fight continued with neither warrior gaining an edge over the other. Irene, Noel and Sophia could only watch in awe as the two opponents dueled to the death. At this point, none of them could be sure of just who would come out victorious. Irene, for her part, couldn't figure out who she wanted the winner to be. She knew killing Teresa was the exact reason they were here in the first place, but Irene didn't really want to see her old friend die, not to mention how wary she was of Priscilla's unusual level of power. Someone like this could be a great asset to the organization, or else it's greatest enemy.

"You're very good," Teresa commented as the fighting briefly stopped so the two could catch their breath. "You may actually be a worthy adversary."

"_You_act as though there will be another fight between us after today," Priscilla shot back. "Make no mistake, Ms. Teresa, I will be taking your head today, you can't keep this up forever."

Teresa smirked. "And you can?"

Priscilla growled and charged again. Teresa easily blocked the attack.

_'She's becoming agitated,'_ Teresa internally noted, dodging another sloppy attack. _'And it's hurting her ability to fight. Pretty soon she'll probably…'_

Teresa trailed off as her mental prediction came true. Priscilla's eyes changed from silver to yellow as the girl began to unleash her yoki. Teresa could've laughed at the number 2's foolishness. Now that she'd released her yoki, Teresa would be able to read her movements again.

She was feeling fairly confidant, until she realized that Priscilla was going even further beyond, releasing more and more yoki. It got to be much that Teresa was unable to accurately read the flow. Priscilla's once pristine features were now marred by the monstrous features of a youma, her sharp teeth gnawing in anticipation of bloodshed. Teresa managed to dodge again but knew her only option was to release some of her own yoki. Priscilla's power was overwhelming, and with much training, the girl would almost definitely come to surpass Teresa one day. That is, if she made it through today without awakening first and this was becoming less and less likely with each passing second. Priscilla was already using over 60 percent of her yoki and it just kept increasing.

"Priscilla," Teresa called out over a barrage of endless blows. "You need to stop this! If you release anymore of your yoki powers, you won't be able to change back."

"SHUT UP!" Priscilla screamed and charged again.

_'Damn it,'_ Teresa seethed. _'She isn't going to stop. I can't let her awaken, I have to-'_"HRGH"

Teresa fell to her knees as the sword went straight through her gut, Priscilla's last attack appeared to have worked. Teresa cursed herself for letting her guard down for even that split second, it had given Priscilla the edge she needed to finally cut her down.

Teresa grabbed at her sword and used it to lift herself off the ground, but Priscilla sent a hard kick to her side, knocking her down once again. Teresa hissed and spat out some blood.

"Y-you'd kick a fallen comrade when they're do-"

"You're not my comrade!" Priscilla snapped as she attempted with little success to get her yoki back under control. "You're just a criminal who needs to be destroyed."

Teresa laughed bitterly. "You really are beyond all hope. Know this Priscilla, dedication to the Organization will only take you so far. Once you aren't useful anymore, they'll dispose of you like trash. You're just a tool to them, an object that they can control. To them, you're nothing!"

Priscilla responded with a growl and another kick, this time to Teresa's face. More blood exuded from the beautiful warrior's mouth as she groaned in pain.

"This is the end of the line for you Teresa," Priscilla coldly said, readying her sword for one final, deadly strike. "But tell me one thing first…why did you do it?"

Teresa took a deep breath. She knew she didn't owe the girl an explanation, they didn't even know each other. Still, she was in no mood to make a snarky comeback or even formulate a late, and so she answered truthfully, with only one simple word.

"Clare…"

Priscilla blinked and hesitated for a moment, dropping her sword back down. Meanwhile, the other three soldiers looked on in confusion.

"Clare?" Noel turned to the others.

"You know who she's talking about," Irene answered, rolling her eyes. "The girl Teresa was traveling with."

"Oh yeah," Noel nodded in understanding as Orsay's explanation of their next assignment came flooding back.

"Clare," Priscilla repeated thoughtfully. "I see. Orsay mentioned her to us."

Teresa looked up, a strange look in her eyes, something between hope, shock and rage, greeting Priscilla.

"He asked us to inform you that the girl is dead," Priscilla explained with no emotion.

Teresa's eyes widened as the world around her melted away. She found herself in pitch black, watching an image of Clare running away from her. Running to her death. Teresa's hands fell to her sides and her head hung low. Clare was dead. Clare was dead. _Clare was dead…_

"It's probably for the best," Priscilla continued indifferently. "She's the reason you killed those humans, isn't she? I don't think I'd want to be comrades with someone who'd cause that kind of trouble."

It was likely because she was so busy keeping her own yoki under control that she barely noticed Teresa's steadily rising. Priscilla lifted her sword again, this time for the kill.

"This is it, I suppose. Goodbye, Teresa of the Faint Smile. You were a worthy opponent, and I'm sorry it had to end this way."

Though Priscilla didn't notice, the others certainly did, and they all stared with wide eyes at Teresa's hand clenched around her sword.

"PRISCILLA! NO!" Irene screamed, but it was too late.

A sword was swung, the sound punctuating the silent forest like never before. Priscilla blinked in confusion, staring at the space where her hands had once been.

"Wha…?" Was all she could say before her head was removed from her body, ending her young life.

Irene, Noel and Sophia looked on in shock as Teresa suddenly vanished, leaving only Priscilla's corpse and a pool of blood behind. It was the last thing any of them saw before everything went black.

* * *

Elgiz smirked as he prepared for the final part of the operation, the part which included his beloved experiment. He was fully confident it would work, the girl had determination and a strong will to follow Teresa around so diligently. That was exactly the type of person he needed for this.

He turned to his assistants and ordered them to get everything ready. As they worked, he stroked the unconscious girl's cheek in a twisted, yet almost affectionate way.

"This is going to be a lot of fun, right Clare?"

* * *

A group of youma was busy feasting on their latest catch. The humans they'd caught were all rather heavy-set, and therefore much juicier and meatier. The group was so engrossed in their meal, they didn't even notice the person coming toward them until she was directly in their line of sight.

"Hey!" One of them pointed to her, getting the attention of the rest.

They stared at the blonde warrior. With her head down, they couldn't see her face, only a blood covered uniform and a small hole in the fabric near her stomach. Really, they were all just surprised that she had just approached them like this, without even trying to attack.

Another youma grinned, allowing bits of bloody flesh to fall from his lips. "Well, look at this. I believe we're in the presence of a Claymore."

The Claymore in question said nothing. She simply reached for her sword and raised her head to reveal golden eyes in place of silver.

* * *

Down in the village, people stopped and stared off into the trees as the sounds of youma screaming and roaring rose like an unholy choir. The villagers spent several seconds doing nothing but listening to the sounds of carnage, until the noises suddenly stopped, and it became deathly quiet.

At that point, the civilians slowly went back to their business, trying to forget about what they'd just heard and keep themselves from wondering what had happened.

* * *

Teresa returned her sword to its sheath, taking in the massacre she had caused. Normally, it would take her one swing to bring down a youma as she liked to get the job over with fast. Today, she'd taken it nice and slow. She'd cut the youma in such a way that they remained alive, yet in serious, excruciating pain. Slowly and steadily, she completely destroyed their bodies, waiting until they were barely even clinging to life to finally execute them with a swift stab to the face.

It did very little to appease her monstrous anger. Teresa fell to the ground and didn't even bother to hold back her tears. She sat by a big willow tree and cried her eyes out, something she hadn't done since she was a child.

She'd thought seriously about going to the Organization's headquarters, killing all the Organization members, Orsay, that bitch Hilary, who she now realized was the one who'd knocked her out after her attempted execution and caused all of this. She imagined cutting them all down with her sword, making them pay for taking Clare's life, and then…

And then what? It wouldn't bring Clare back, it wouldn't change the fact that Teresa had failed her. Even if she killed every single member, every soldier, every handler, it would do nothing to save the girl who'd saved her. Even so, what else could Teresa do now? She had already killed the only person who could possibly become more powerful than her, and who was to say the Organization wouldn't eventually come out with another potentially stronger warrior. If she killed them, if would be in self-preservation. If she killed everyone involved in the Organization, it would be revenge. But what would happened afterwards, what would she live for now that Clare was gone? What was worth living for besides vengeance?

With all these thoughts in mind, the deeply conflicted Teresa could do nothing but lay under the tree; hoping sleep would claim her fast so she'd have even the briefest reprieve from the pain. Maybe she'd even dream of Clare…

* * *

Rimuto was a top member of the Organization, and, to his annoyance, he'd been asked to go and oversee Eligz's work on his so-called 'special experiment'. Really, he didn't see what all the fuss was about, the whole thing sounds preposterous and he doubted Elgiz would actually succeed in such nonsense. If only they had asked someone else to go, Rimuto really didn't like being anywhere near Elgiz. He found the man staring at his finished product with a sick look of satisfaction on his face. The scientist hardly acknowledged his superior's presence until Rimuto cleared his throat.

"Is this it?" He asked.

Elgiz nodded, beaming with a prideful look not unlike that of a man who's first child had just been born. "Yes, it is. Isn't she beautiful?"

Rimuto casually glanced down at the girl, who looked exactly the same now as she had when she'd been brought in aside from the usual drainage of hair color.

"So, I'm assuming the operation was a success?"

"Well," Elgiz answered, motioning up and down the length of her body. "The fact that she's _breathing _is a good indication. We just need to wait for her to fully wake up in order to…"

He trailed off when the girl suddenly groaned and her eyes fluttered open.

"Speak of the devil," Elgiz grinned. "How are you feeling, dear?"

The girl coughed twice. "My throat's dry."

The two men noted the raspy sound of her voice as Elgiz snapped for an assistant to get her some water. The man came back very quickly and handed the new recruit a half full glass.

"Do you know where you are?" Elgiz asked her once she'd drained the water.

She blinked. "I…I'm at the Organization that produces Claymores."

"Not Claymores, dear," Elgiz gently scolded her. "That is what the masses refer to us as. You are a soldier of the Organization, nothing more."

She nodded silently while Elgiz turned to smile at Rimuto. The latter understood what the creepy smile meant: he was about to find out if Elgiz's memory experiment had worked.

"Tell me dear," Elgiz started. "Do you remember how you got here?"

She looked confused for a minute, as if trying to recall a distant memory. After a moment, the light of realization shone in her eyes.

"My-my family…" she gasped, sitting up roughly. "My father and mother…they were…they were killed…"

"By a yoma?" Elgiz pressed on eagerly. Rimuto could tell by man's smile that he already knew the answer.

"Ye-NO!" Clare cried, her hands beginning to shake. "No, not a yoma. It-it was…"

Flashes of memory passed through Clare's inner eye. The sight of her parent's blood covered bodies, the sounds of her loved ones being cut down, the cold silver eyes of the witch who'd destroyed everything Clare held dear.

"…it was a Claymore."

Elgiz nodded, he could barely contain his glee. "A Claymore, huh?"

She nodded, "I…I remember it so clearly. She was tall, had long wavy hair…her eyes, they were so cold, so emotionless…they were like the eyes of the devil…"

She trailed off and stared silently down at her feet, trying not to cry in front of the two men.

"She still lives, Clare," Elgiz informed her. "The rogue soldier who killed your family is out there somewhere. She's taken down everyone we've sent to execute her, including the warrior ranked number 2. I don't think there's ever been a more wanted criminal amongst our former ranks…would you like to know her name?"

Clare didn't respond, but Elgiz took this as a cue to continue.

"Her name is Teresa. Teresa of the Faint Smile."

Again, they got no response. Neither man cared however, they were both just happy (or in Rimuto's case, completely gobsmacked) knowing the experiment had been a success.

"You will have to spend the next few days recovering from the surgery," Rimuto explained to her. "At the end of the week; you will join the next class of new recruits and begin your training. Until then…feel free to relax."

The white blonde haired girl could only nod. Elgiz and Rimuto walked away so that she wouldn't hear them talking, not that they needed to. Clare was too consumed by her own thoughts to even care what they or anyone else in the real world was saying.

"Teresa…" she whispered the name of her family's killer, and once again she could hear them as the fallen warrior took their lives from them for her own sick enjoyment.

"Teresa of the Faint Smile..."

The screams of her mother…

"I…"

Her father's dying breathes…

"I will…"

The witch's cold silver eyes looking down at her, watching her, _mocking_her…

_"I will destroy you."_

* * *

**A/N: Don't forget to review.**

**Ciao!**


	3. 02: A Learning Experience

The awakened being tore another lump of meat off the carcass with his gnarled and yellow teeth. He took no note of the blood dripping from his lips, and neither did any of his companions who were all too preoccupied with their own meals to notice. All except one.

The skeletal creature eyed his (admittedly much larger) rock-like companion with a look of distaste and chewed slowly on his own food, trying to ignore the corpse's head which lay face up right beside him, it's silver eyes wide and it's face contorted in never-ending pain. What a sorry death this girl had endured.

"Good haul tonight," one of them, a lizard-like creature with a mouth full of teeth, said between chomps. "These Claymore girls don't taste great, but at least we got a bunch of them, I just love it when they try to hunt us down."

"Don't chew with your mouth open," the being next to him chastised with a roll of his eyes. "It's disgusting."

The lizard creature snorted and went to take another bite. He froze in place however when he noticed the skeleton-like being still watching him and glared.

"Got somethin ta say ta me, Caelum?"

The skeleton creature shook his head and went back to staring at his own food, wondering not for the first time why he'd stuck with this group for so long. He didn't quite hate his companions, most them anyway (he glanced up at the rock creature for a moment), but the longer he stayed with them, the more he felt like the monster he truly was.

Even so, Caelum chuckled inwardly, they really were quite a sight. He didn't think there were many other awakened beings out there who would willingly group together the way the six of them did. Perhaps this apparent desire for companionship meant there was still a bit of humanity left in them.

"You know I saw a couple of little girls playing earlier," the rock beast said, drawing Caelum from his thoughts. "We should hang around and see if they come back tomorrow, I bet they'd be pretty tasty."

_'But then again, maybe not.'_

* * *

Teresa had been walking for three days straight. She hadn't stopped to rest or even eat; if her thirst became too great, she simply took a drink from the river she was following.

Of course, she had no real destination since she had no real purpose anymore. Before, when she refused to accept a punishment she didn't deserve for a crime that was completely justified, she had vowed to live for Clare. Now that she was gone, what was left for Teresa? Her desire for vengeance, while great, was not one she would act on. Clare wouldn't have wanted that.

Teresa chuckled to herself as soon as the thought formed in her mind. To think she'd come this far from the heartless warrior she'd once been. In the old days, she'd have stormed into the Organization right at the start of all this and slaughtered anyone and everyone she encountered. But then again, in the old days there had been no Clare.

Teresa fought back the tears threatening to spill over. She'd already cried enough, now she had to remain strong. She would not seek revenge, and she would not try and end her life. She would live on as best she could and keep Clare's memory alive. Besides, even if she did die, Teresa doubted someone like her would receive the same afterlife as an innocent human child.

The blonde stopped when she heard a twig snapping behind her. She felt no yoki and was near a small village, so when she turned her head she half-expected to see a wide eyed villager come to stare at the big bad Claymore. Instead she saw nothing but air, and was momentarily confused until she heard the sound again. She glanced down, taking in the sight of a grey tabby cat staring up at her with wide yellow eyes.

Teresa raised an eyebrow at the creature and sighed with annoyance.

"What's a thing like you doing way out here?" She muttered, taking note of the bright red collar around the cat's neck.

The cat meowed softly as if in response, and Teresa felt something deep within her stir. As a small child, she'd had a great affection for cats even though she never got to have one of her own. She smiled slightly and unconsciously reached down to pat it's head only to jerk back with the creature unexpectedly clamped it's teeth down on her hand. It ran away with an angry screech as soon as the former Claymore got free, but Teresa was no longer concerned with that, she could only think of the three yoki signatures headed straight for her. She lowered her own yoki down to zero and hid behind some trees to avoid being seen. One of the signatures approaching was definitely that of a soldier.

* * *

The soldier in question was currently running at top speed, the angry youma two strides behind. The jaws gnashed together, ready to tear her apart the second she was within their grasp.

She breathed heavily as she ran, her goal being to get them as far from the village as possible. She was a new soldier out on her first mission, and didn't want to risk civilians dying just because she was relatively inexperienced in fighting youma. For a while she'd contemplated using the special attack she'd been working on, but quickly dismissed that idea. She didn't have nearly enough practice yet for that, and so this was all she could think to do. It annoyed her that she was essentially running away, even if it was all part of her, admittedly foolish, plan to defeat them.

She stopped upon feeling she was far enough away, as did the yoma. The monstrous creatures sneered at her as they slowly moved in for the kill. She had to act now. The soldier pulled out her sword and got into position, stopping only to take a deep breath. This was it, her first fight as a Claymore, the one that would show just what she was capable of, and she was more than a little nervous.

_'Stay calm,'_ she told herself. _'You can do this. These guys are weak, they're nothing compared to what you fought during your final exam and you survived that. They haven't been trained to fight like you have, they rely only on their instincts. You the power to destroy them.'_

The youma on the left struck first, it's arms reaching outwards as it let out a snarl and jumped at it's foe. Her sword arm swung upwards, slicing the creatures hands off. Blood spurted from the wound as the youma shrieked in pain.

"YOU BITCH!" It roared and jumped again before the young warrior had a chance to prepare for it.

She grunted as she hit the ground but recovered quickly and kneed the yoma in the stomach, knocking the wind out of it. Getting back up quickly, she readied her sword, dodging the second youma as it launched it's own attack and relieved the fallen monster of it's head. She lifted her sword again swung it around to hit the other youma, however it was a lot quicker than she'd expected and got away with only a cut across the chest, which did nothing to deter it.

By now, the youma's yoki had increased dramatically and she realized that it was a lot stronger than she'd originally thought. Even so, she was confidant now after eliminating the first youma, she glared into it's eyes, ready to fight with no fear.

For the most part.

It lunged again, a crazed look in it's eye. She swung her sword and cut through it's arm vertically, making it scream in pain. She kicked it's legs out from under it while it was distracted, causing it to fall on it's back. She pressed her foot down on it's chest and raised her sword to strike the killing blow.

She noticed out of the corner of her eye a sliver of familiar white blonde hair behind a tree. She blinked, was there another soldier here? She felt no yoki besides the youma's.

And in this split second when she made this rookie mistake, she suddenly found herself a foot off the ground, her sword falling to the ground, and the yoma she'd been about to kill leering over her, it's giant hand wrapped tightly around her throat. She reached up to get it off, but it's grip was ironclad, and she couldn't kick it off her because it's own legs were currently crushing down on hers. She groaned in pain as it's grip tightened even further and increased her efforts in getting him off.

Her vision was getting foggy as she struggled to take a breath. Her lungs were about to burst, if she didn't kill him now, she'd die herself, and on her first ever mission even.

Her face hardened. No. She would not die here, not now. Up until now, fear of going to far had kept her from releasing too much power, but now was a true matter of life and death, and she'd release it all before letting this thing take her life. She growled as her yoki powers grew. The youma screamed as the pressure the now gold eyed Claymore put on it's last good arm increased dramatically. It tried to let go, but the tides had turned again, and now it was _her _prisoner. It could only keep screaming as it's arm finally gave way and was removed from it's socket.

In her angered daze she failed to catch herself as she severed the only thing holding her up. She fell to the ground, smashing her head against a large rock. She could barely focus her eyes on the youma as another soldier jumped out and swiftly chopped it's head off.

* * *

Teresa glared at the beast, watching it fell to the ground beside it's brethren. She turned her attention to the barely conscious girl and clicked her tongue. She was a rookie, that much was obvious. She'd made all the mistakes a soldier might make on their first time out, but she was one of the lucky ones that survived.

And despite her current follies, the girl was incredibly powerful. Teresa felt it from the start of the fight, but didn't know the full extent of her strength until she'd watch the girl ripped the youma's arm off with her bare hands. Granted, the girl wasn't nearly as strong as Teresa herself, not yet anyway. And this only cemented in Teresa's mind the fact that her position as the strongest soldier (even if that word no longer accurately described her) could change at any time.

The girl by now had regained consciousness and was staring somewhat unfocused at Teresa.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

The girl nodded. "Did…they send you?"

Teresa sighed softly. "No, I was just passing through."

She nodded again. "Where's the yoma?"

"It's dead," Teresa answered, motioning at her sword. "I had to finish him off for you, I hope you don't mind."

Teresa returned the sword to it's sheath and took a step away from the girl.

"It's pretty clear that you've new to the Organization. I hope you learn something from this experience," Teresa said, then turned and smiled at the girl. "You have a lot of potential, it'd be a shame if you died before you could reach it."

The soldier didn't answer, but seemed to be taking in what Teresa was saying regardless.

The former number 1 nodded and turned to leave.

"I'm Miria," the girl suddenly spoke up, making Teresa stop. "My rank is 17."

Teresa raised an eyebrow. "17? That's not bad for a starting rank. Maybe one day you'll be a single digit."

"Yes, I hope so," Miria said with a nod, "Thank you for helping me, I suppose I still have a lot to learn."

Teresa didn't answer, but did grant the girl a soft smile, "Well like I said, you're very powerful. You may one day become one of their strongest warriors, so try not to kill yourself killed before you have the chance to reach that potential."

Of course, that last part had an undertone of malice to it, and she wondered if the younger girl had noticed it. She turned to walk away once again without leaving a proper farewell, and once again Miria's voice stopped her.

"You haven't told me who you are."

The fallen soldier didn't turn around this time, but simply gave a sigh.

"It isn't important who I am, I was just passing by."

And with that, Teresa took off in a run, leaving the confused Miria behind to wonder about this strange fellow soldier.

* * *

"…and finally, Estelle, number 14 was killed earlier today during an awakened being hunt. The other members of her group suffered minimal injuries."

Rimuto nodded.

"Alright, thank you, Rado. Our next order of business is this Teresa problem," he and the other Organization members turned their attention to the high ranking soldiers who stood before them. "Would one of you please explain just what happened?"

Noel glanced sideways at Sophia as the latter stepped forward.

"As we explained before sir, Priscilla took on Teresa herself and during the fight nearly awakened. Teresa was able to kill her before she went too far and then ran off."

Rimuto nodded. "And Irene?"

Sophia's expression when from business like to solemn as she lowered her head a bit.

"She tried to stop Priscilla herself, but in the end she had no chance," Her voice was softening fast. "By the time Priscilla was finished with her, there was barely anything left."

The council began murmuring amongst themselves. All except for Rimuto, who continued to glare at the short haired Claymores. Noel was keeping uncharacteristically silent and Sophia's face retained it's apparent grief for her fallen comrade.

"Is that all you have to report?" He asked, with an underlying tone that dared her to lie to him.

Sophia held her ground in spite of it and look her superior right in the eye as she answered. "Yes sir, that's all."

Throughout all this, Noel could only stare at the wall straight ahead and silently marvel at what a good liar Sophia was.

* * *

_"DAMN IT! GODDAMN THAT BITCH TO HELL!" Noel seethed, slamming the hilt of her sword into a nearby tree._

Sophia was watching the display some feet away, having given up trying to stop her, and Irene had been too busy staring at Priscilla's body to care about what her comrades were doing. The body was still in good condition, or would be if not for the missing hands and head. The latter of which had landed directly in Irene's line of sight.

Priscilla's face had finally gone back to normal, and looked almost peaceful in death. Not that Noel really cared as she was too busy pretending the tree trunk she was slicing at was Teresa's face. She didn't even notice when Irene turned to look at her, at least not until the number 3 appeared right in front of her and grabbed the blade of Noel's sword in her hand, paying no heed to the wound it created.

"Stop it right now, Noel," Irene said in a no-nonsense tone. "I need you and Sophia to listen to me now."

Noel sneered at the older warrior, but retracted her sword anyway. Sophia simply walked over to stand next to her friend.

"What is it, Irene?" She asked.

Irene looked at the two women with a strange expression on her face. If Noel didn't know any better, she'd say the blonde looked sad.

"When you go back to the Organization, tell them that Priscilla is dead, and that I was killed by her."

The two gasped. "What? Are you saying you're not going back?"

"You heard what I said," Irene responded firmly. "At the moment I'm still of a higher rank than you, so do as I say. After we part ways, I will no longer be a part of the Organization, so in their eyes I might as well be dead."

Noel couldn't believe what she was hearing, and she knew the Organization wouldn't take kindly to losing their top three warriors in such a short amount of time, but now that she thought about it, didn't this mean she and Sophia would be promoted? She had to admit that was a good deal.

She opened her mouth to respond, but Sophia beat her to the punch. "Alright Irene, we'll tell them, but will you be able to stay hidden?"

Irene smiled a bit. "Don't worry about me, I have some yoki suppressants, they should tide me over until I can find a place to hide… but I'm not going back, no matter what."

That last part was directed at Noel, whose lack of assurance with the whole plan showed plainly on her face. Regardless, she nodded her head in agreement.

"Alright, but don't let us find you again," Noel said. "If they ever find out you're still alive they'll have you killed for deserting."

Irene smirked, sending a chill down Noel's back, and before she realized what was happening, the trees behind her and Sophia had been chopped to pieces and Irene was returning her sword to it's original place.

"Don't write me off so easily, number 4."

* * *

"I see."

Rimuto's voice jerked Noel out of her memories. Sophia remained in place waiting for orders while Noel quickly recomposed herself. The high ranking member studied the two soldiers for a few seconds, his mouth set in a firm line and his eyes betraying no emotion.

"Both of you return to your quarters. We've lost too many soldiers trying to execute Teresa, for the time being we must direct our focus elsewhere. Now go."

"Yes sir," the two women said in unison as they walked out of the room. Noel took a brief look back at the Organization members as she did so, catching only a glimpse of them as the doors closed behind her.

* * *

"Rubel, come forward." Rimuto ordered.

The bald man walked toward his superior, his signature smile visible as always.

"Yes sir," he said, bowing his head in fealty.

"I assume you followed them discreetly as you were ordered to."

"I did," Rubel answered. "I don't know for sure where Irene is, but I can assure you Priscilla didn't lay a hand on her. Teresa killed her before she could even awaken fully."

Rimuto clicked his tongue. "Just as I thought. Well, we'll deal with Noel and Sophia later. Right now there's the matter of Priscilla's body."

"It's being recovered as we speak," Rubel responded. "Dae is very interested in the remains. Priscilla's flesh and blood could prove very useful to his experiments."

The higher ranked member nodded. "Very well, tell him to have them stored away for future use and to be quick about it. We wouldn't want her to start decomposing."

* * *

Hilary sighed in annoyance, she really hated it when awakened being hunts turn up nothing but a bunch of regular youma. They just weren't any fun to fight anymore, they attacked the same and defended the same, didn't they ever learn? Needless to say, Hilary had not had a good day at all.

As she headed back to her room to rest before her next assignment, she passed the room where the new recruited where being trained, and one of them caught her eye long enough to make her stop and watch the girls be taught proper sword wielding techniques.

The girl in question had long hair with predictable white blonde color. Her silver eyes were wrought with concentration as she gave all her attention to her instructor. At some point though, she must have realized she was being watched by an outside party as her eyes suddenly darted toward Hilary, and for a moment the latter thought she was looking into the eyes of a demon. Hilary raised an eyebrow.

_'She's angry,'_ Hilary noted. _'But I suppose believing the person who killed your family got away with the crime will do that to a person.'_

She tore her eyes away from Clare's and continued her trek down the hall, though her mind remained on the young girl in the training room even after she was in her room and sitting against the wall.

_'It's amazing what a little yoma blood and brainwashing will do. She looked so innocent before…'_


	4. 03: The Measure of a Monster

Chirping birds and rushing water are usually sounds one would associate with peace and relaxation. For Teresa, they'd become such a nuisance that she wanted to kill every bird in the sky and drain all the water from the river if only to make the noises stop.

She leaned against her sword, waking up from another night of nightmares about Clare's death. She didn't actually know what they'd done to the little girl, and that only made it worse. The blonde sighed and opened her eyes. The clearing looked exactly the same as the one she'd slept in the night before, and the one she'd slept in the night before that.

Teresa stood up, pulling her sword from the ground and returning it to it's sheath. To the right, she could see the outline of a nearby village, the third one she'd passed in a week. Briefly she thought of passing though, maybe getting a room to sleep in for the night. However, she shook those thoughts away. She hadn't been out of the forest since her encounter with Irene and the others, she knew she was more wanted now than ever before. It was best if she stayed away from large amounts of people. Her silver eyes and battered but still recognizable uniform would give her away in a second.

Teresa lightly brushed a hand against the fabric. She knew she should dispose of it, but she had no other clothing on hand at the moment. To compensate, she'd removed her cape, armor, and her symbol, and burned them several nights ago. Still, she'd have to find something else eventually.

A humorless smile appeared on her face. It was times like this a part of her almost wished she were an awakened being, at least then she'd have her old dark hair and eyes to camouflage her.

Teresa, who up until now had been following the river due North, stopped at that moment and smiled again, this time for real.

_'Speak of the devil,'_ she thought to herself. _'I finally have something to do.'_

The bushes rustled behind her. She stood perfectly still and waited quietly, knowing it would probably jump out at any second.

She was proven right when not a moment later, a loud roar ripped through the repetitive noises, and a large awakened being leaped with surprising grace out of the bushes and landed not a foot away from Teresa.

The former number 1 turned, and silently examined the monstrous creature. It was around three times her size, and looked to be made of large boulders. It was blue-ish gray in color, and had black holes where it's eyes should have been.

The creature appeared to be studying Teresa as well, and didn't talk for several seconds.

"Hmmm…" he muttered in a deep, masculine voice. "Another Claymore girl, eh?"

Teresa didn't respond.

"How annoying," the monster grumbled. "You Claymores taste like shit, but I suppose beggers can't be choosers."

Teresa raised an eyebrow. "I see, you intend to make me your dinner… but do you really think I'll go down without a fight?"

The creature snorted. "Please, you think I'm scared you? I notice you don't have a symbol, you a rogue or something?"

"I don't believe that's any of your business," Teresa answered firmly.

"I'll take that as yes," his face formed into what appeared to be a grin. "How sad, I guess you won't be missed then."

Teresa smiled and pulled out her sword. "Alright, if you think you can defeat me, let's do this."

This time, the monster out right laughed and the birds in the area flew off in fear, but Teresa remained unfazed.

"I like you, Claymore," the beast said. "It's a shame you had to pick a fight instead of accepting your death quietly. I'll have you know, I was the Organization's Number 3 during my time, you don't have a chance in hell off defeating me!"

He roared again and launched himself in the air, he got so high, he almost couldn't be seen against the sky blue backdrop. Teresa still didn't move even as he began his descent.

"Number 3, huh?" She muttered more to herself than to him. "That's quite impressive…

The next few seconds appeared to happen in slow motion. The beast was mere inches from landing on Teresa, she readied her sword and swung through him once. His determined, bloody thirsty face fell to make room for surprise.

" …almost as impressive as my former rank of 1," Teresa finished, her signature smile in place.

"Wha…?" Was all the monster could say before blood spurted from his body and he fell heavily to the ground.

Teresa lightly flicked her sword a few times to remove the blood, then kicked the body out of the way and turned her focus to the bushes the creature had come from.

"Come out now," she shouted. "I'll just come looking for you if you don't. You can't hide from me!"

Her words seemed to resonate with them, as not a moment later, she heard footsteps shuffling forward. She had originally counted six yoki signatures that could only belong to awakened beings. One now lay dead at her feet, and the other five were filing quietly out into the clearing.

Though she wouldn't show it, Teresa was honestly surprised. The five beings now standing before her, while definitely awakened beings from their yoki, were in their human forms.

Slowly, she examined each one, just as she'd done the first one.

To the far left was a 'man' with long black hair tied back in a pony tail. He had a plain face, a muscular build and, dare she say it, soft blue eyes.

Next to him was a thinner, shorter man with blonde hair and beady green eyes. Unlike the first man, this one was genuinely ugly, with a too big nose and a scowling face.

The two beside him stood rather close together, as if protecting each other. The first one was tall and very overweight. His greasy red hair and bearded face made it look like he hadn't shaved or combed his hair in several years. His friend was a stark contrast, being small and lean with a clean face and straight brown shoulder length hair.

Her eyes fell on the last one, and Teresa almost had to do a double take. The word she knew perfectly described this man flashed through her mind, she just wasn't sure she wanted to acknowledge it.

Beautiful. That was the word.

He was around a head taller than Teresa, though shorter than most of his companions. He was also by far the skinniest, absolutely no muscle mass to speak of. His pitch black hair fell delicately in front of deep blue eyes. Teresa almost had to look away from him, not because she found him attractive, but because looking at him sent an uncomfortable chill running down her spine.

Teresa closed her eyes, bringing herself back to focus. When she opened them again, her eyes were set with resolve as she readied her sword.

"I'm surprised," she spoke firmly. "You come out here in your human forms, almost as if you don't want to try and fight."

The tall, black haired one shrugged his shoulders. "It's not like we could do anything to stop you."

"What an idiot, Dorado," the redhead drawling, circling the body of his fallen comrade which he then proceeded to give a kick. "I told him not to pick a fight with a Claymore, but noooo, he just had to be a tough guy."

The brunette rolled his eyes. "You said no such thing, Orion."

"Shut up, Pavo," Orion snapped. "I was thinking it."

"If you two are done with your foolishness," the blonde interrupted loudly. "We are about to be killed, best you pay attention."

"Don't bother, Volans," the one who'd addressed Teresa said. "They don't have long to live anyway, let them have one last fight."

The one called Volans made a face. "Yes, well you may not mind, but I'd like to spend my last few moments alive in relative silence, thank you very much."

"They'll be plenty of that where we're going," Orion piped up in a slightly mocking tone of voice. "Silence and darkness and all sorts of fun stuff. You'll be right at home, Volans."

"Hold it!"

The foursome quieted and looked up at their soon to be killer. Teresa, for her part, had absolutely no idea what to make of this situation. These were awakened beings, she'd seen creatures like them gleefully rip apart humans and soldiers alike. She'd once even witnessed one literally pulling the heart out of a fellow soldier and eating it before the remainder of the group's eyes. These creatures before her, with the exception of the last one, act almost… human. Not only that, their nonchalant attitude towards their impending death left her even more confused, didn't they want to stay alive? Why weren't they trying to eat her right now, this went against everything she knew about awakened beings. She could almost feel a headache coming on, it was so strange.

"Something wrong?" the one called Pavo asked.

"You…" Teresa trailed off, searching for the words to properly express what she was feeling right now. "Why are you acting like this?"

The four glanced at each other.

"Like what?" Asked Orion.

"Don't you care that I'm about to kill you? Why aren't you trying to stop me?"

Volans, Orion and Pavo all glanced at the black haired one. The other member of their party remained as silent and oblivious as ever.

"Miss, we've been alive a long, long time," he explained. "At this point, dying really isn't all that frightening a thought."

"Got that right," Orion piped up. "You know what is scary? Those freaks some villages have at their celebrations with the creepy laughs the colorful faces. Those guys are seriously disturbed. Death? Eh…"

The redhead shrugged, and then went back to kicking the rock beast's dead body around some more.

"We know there's no point in fighting you," Pavo continued for his companion. "My yoki reading abilities were the best around in my day, but I can already tell yours are better. That coupled with your easy defeat of Dorado when I've seen lesser Claymore fall in droves trying to bring him down… well, there's just no point in fighting the inevitable."

Teresa gripped her sword a little tighter.

"And you all agree on this?"

The four of them nodded. Teresa glanced at the fifth one. This time, looking at him didn't unnerve her as much, perhaps because she already knew what to expect when she gazed upon him.

"What about you?" she addressed him.

His eyes turned upwards to meet hers. She noticed that in this light, they looked more purple than they did blue.

Behind her, Orion snorted.

"Don't bother with Mensa," the redhead drawled. "He never talks to anyone."

Teresa ignored him, and kept her eyes on the one called Mensa for several seconds. He stared right back at her and didn't say a word, but since he had yet to try anything, she figured he was in agreement.

"I see…" she said to herself as she turned back around. "I hope you're not just doing this in some futile attempt to catch me off guard, because I assure you gentlemen, it won't work."

The black haired one nodded. "We wouldn't expect it to even if that was what we were doing."

Teresa nodded, but couldn't get rid of those suspicious feelings. These creatures were nothing like the awakened beings she'd seen before. Especially the black haired one. His posture, his way of speaking, everything about seemed more human than monster.

That didn't change the fact that he and his friends were, in fact, monsters. They were killers and they had to be destroyed, no matter what. Teresa sighed inwardly and raised her sword. The quintet did nothing to stop her; they stood tall, ready to face their destruction without struggle. Teresa eyed the black haired one, ready to take him down first.

"HEEELP!"

All six of them tensed. The black haired one glanced in the direction the voice had come from, a peculiar look washing over his face.

Teresa blinked, unsure of what to make of this development. She knew she should get it over with now while they were distracted, but something was stopping her. Something she didn't understand.

"Aw, crap," she heard Orion mutter to Pavo. "Caelum's got that look in his eye."

"Look?" Teresa repeated to herself just as the frantic voice was heard again, and the black haired one, Caelum apparently, took off like a bullet into the trees.

Without a moments hesitation, Teresa went after him, the other four awakened ones following in their wake.

"You damned _idiot!_" Teresa heard Orion shouting. "This is no time to play hero again."

_'Hero? Again?'_ Teresa's mind was spinning now.

When she felt Caelum stop, she and the others did as well. The black haired man was crouched behind some bushes, and actually shushed Teresa when he noticed her behind him. Teresa didn't say anything, more because she was too busy observing the scene before her than because of anything Caelum did.

A group of men sat around a camp fire. They were laughing and talking loudly, clinking glasses which, judging by the intense smell, were filled with something highly alcoholic. To one side, Teresa found the source of the terrified screaming. A young girl, no older than twelve was tied up and gagged. She lay on the ground beside a greasy looking man in his thirties, who bit into a leg of lamp like a savage animal.

"I can't believe you got her laying there like that while we're eatin'" One of the bandits shouted at the man before taking another swig of his drink. "Can't you just save her in your tent like the rest of us?"

The greasy man shrugged. "I like to have them with me at all times, so they can't escape."

"You're a sick bastard, you know that," the first man said in a playful tone. "That bitch can't be older than twelve."

"What can I say?" The second man said, biting into his lamb and letting bits of meat fall from his lips as he spoke again. "I like them best when they're young."

The bandits laughed jovially.

Meanwhile, it was taking all of Teresa's willpower not to jump out of the bushes and massacre every last one of them. They were just like the bandits she'd killed to rescue Clare. Even worse, perhaps. It was then Teresa noticed Caelum was watching her and not the bandits. She glanced at him, and he gave her a look that spoke very clearly.

_'Wait here, I'll handle this.'_

Teresa's mouth opened, but no sound came out as Caelum stood back up and walked into the bandit's view.

"I can't believe him," Orion was muttering. "He always does this, he wants to protect all the snot-nosed brats of the world, what a freak."

Though the terminology wasn't quite what Teresa would've used, she found herself agreeing with the redhead.

During all this, Caelum was walking calmly into the bandit's midst. It took a few seconds for one of them to notice him and alert the others, but once they were aware of his presence, they had him surrounded in an instant.

"Well, this is a surprise," one of them, possibly the leader, spoke up. "Usually travelers don't come to us, we have to hunt them down. You must have a death wish, huh boy?"

"Not really," Caelum answered with a shrug. "Not one you could grant anyway. I'd simply like to ask you to please free that girl you have tied up."

The bandits laughed again, though this time it was much more sinister.

"Oh, so you're trying to save the litter one, eh?" the leader said in a mocking tone. "I don't think we can do that. See, she belongs to Eso here now, and I don't think he wants to give her to you. Least not 'til he's had his fun with her, o' course."

Teresa watched Caelum glance at the greasy bandit, who's face showed nothing but smug anticipation for whatever he had planned for that little girl. Caelum sighed.

"If that's the case, I'm afraid I'll have to make you let her go," the blacked haired 'man' informed them.

Eso smirked. "Alright, if you think you can, I'll fight you for her."

The bandit drew his sword while his comrades spread out to make room for him. They begin shouting and cheering for their man to eliminate Caelum, who stood quietly in wait. Teresa could've sworn he didn't even want to fight them.

Eso charged forward, ready for the kill. He swung his sword at Caelum's head, and stopped short when Caelum's arm shot upwards, his hand holding the sword just above his face. The bandit's gasped. Eso's face was slowly filling with shock and horror. Caelum sighed.

"You should have just let her go," he said, his voice actually full of sorrow at what he was about to do.

The group in the bushes watched him squeeze the blade until it finally broke in half. The top part falling to the ground as Eso backed away in fear.

"Should we go help him?" Pavo asked out loud.

Teresa's ears focused on his voice even though her eyes remained on Caelum as he approached the greasy bandit.

"Why should we," Orion grumbled. "He can play hero on his own if he wants, I just want to either get to dying, or find something to eat."

"Go ahead."

Orion and the other awakened beings snapped their gazes at the woman next to them. None of them could believe what they'd just heard.

"What?" asked Volans.

Teresa looked up at them. "You heard me. Pavo here wants to help Caelum, and Orion is hungry, so go ahead."

The three (Mensa remained quiet and to the side) awakened beings looked at each other, then back at Teresa.

Teresa for her part was in no way sorry for what she was about to do, and when the trio finally walked out of the bushes to assist their friend, she simply sat down on the ground and ignored the sounds of carnage outside.

_'People like them…'_ she told herself. _'If an awakened being is more of a human than they are, they don't deserve to live.'_

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Teresa leaned against a rock lost in her thoughts. Every now and again, she'd glance over at the awakened beings enjoying their meal. She'd finally gotten a glimpse of their awakened forms as they'd all transformed to eat.

Caelum was a large, skeletal creature with protruding gold eyes and leathery black wings. Orion was more reptilian, with scaly red-ish skin and a green underbelly. Pavo resembled a large wolf, the only thing that could set him about were his human like eyes and lack of a tail. Volans was by far the oddest looking one. His body appeared to be nothing but hair. She couldn't see his mouth, eyes, or any facial features at all. Caelum had warned her never to try touching Volans while he was in this form, but she had yet to ask for a reason.

The only person who hadn't transformed was the only one who hadn't partaken in the attack in the first place. Mensa sat quietly by himself, watching the stars and seemingly oblivious to the world around him. Teresa found herself looking at him more than once. There was something very strange about him, and though Teresa didn't like it, somehow that didn't stop her from being curious.

"Mensa's not going to eat?" she casually asked Caelum, who was sitting a foot away from her munching on a leg.

"Mensa _never_ eats," Orion called from were he was sitting. "He's an even bigger freak than Caelum!"

"I apologize for Orion," Caelum said softly. "He's usually not… well, actually he's always like this."

"Forget it," Teresa answered, waving her hand. "I've dealt with plenty of rude people in the past."

They were silent for a few moments, only the sounds of chewing making up the background noises.

"You know," Caelum said, breaking the silence. "I've noticed that you know all our names, but we don't know yours."

Teresa eyed him. "Does it matter? I'll be killing you all soon anyway."

"Perhaps we'd like to know the name of our killer," Caelum suggested. "It's respectful."

Teresa laughed at that. "Respect you? I destroy your kind all the time, respect is never an issue."

She heard Caelum sigh. "Even after what you just saw, you still believe I am a monster."

"You're an awakened being," Teresa answered. "Only a step above the youma. You feed on humans just as they do, that's why people like me are created to destroy you. It's the only thing the Organization was ever right about."

This time, Caelum was the one who laughed, though his was much more humorless. "So you consider my freeing that girl to be a monstrous act."

Teresa opened her mouth, but stopped when she realized something that shocked her: he was right. While the others dealt with the remaining bandits, Caelum had finished off the greasy one, Eso. He'd then walked over to the tied up little girl and carefully removed her bindings.

"You're from that village over there, aren't you?"

The girl could only nod, clearly still very frightened.

"A child your age shouldn't be wandering the forest alone," he'd reprimanded her gently. "Your village is not far, you can see it from here. Go home, and don't come here alone again."

The girl had been nervous about moving at first, but Caelum gave her a warm smile which seemed to ease her nerves and she gave a soft 'thank you' before running off towards the village.

Teresa remembered the scene well, it had been so unexpected. These awakened beings, especially Caelum, just kept on surprising her. She wasn't even sure she could see them as full fledged monsters anymore. Even in the form he was in now, Caelum seemed more human than some actual humans she could think of.

"My name is Teresa," she finally said, loud enough for the others to hear as well.

Caelum nodded. "Teresa, it's nice to meet you."

"I'm still going to kill you," she told him matter-of-factly, though at this point, she wasn't sure if she was reminded him of that, or herself.

"That's fine," Caelum answered. "Kill us whenever you wish."

That was it.

"What the hell are you?" Teresa shouted, as she stood up.

Around her, Orion, Pavo and Volans all looked up from their food. Even Mensa started paying attention. Caelum, for his part, merely blinked in confusion.

"What…am I?" he repeated, unsurely. "I don't understand what you mean."

"I've seen dozens of awakened beings before," Teresa ranted. "They've all been completely unashamed monsters. They killed for fun and they ate human flesh with a smile on their faces. Then I meet the five of you, and you especially, Caelum, you go against everything I know about awakened beings!"

Caelum stared at her, while the other four watched him waiting to see what he'd do.

"If you truly feel that way," he began. "Perhaps you are the one at fault here, Teresa."

The former number 1 stared at him. "Me?"

He nodded. "You assume like all the others that we are irredeemably evil creatures. Why? Because we eat humans. Because of this, you hunt us down and kill us. Did you ever consider that it isn't by choice that we eat human guts? When I was first awakened, I didn't just decide to go and eat someone, I had no other option. Nothing else would satisfy my hunger. It's true that many of us enjoy hunting and eating humans, but the few of us who don't only do so because we'd starve to death otherwise. Can you really fault us for that?"

"No," Teresa admitted. "That doesn't mean it's alright."

"I'm not saying it is," Caelum responded. "It isn't right or wrong, good or bad. It just is. It's what we have to do to survive."

Pavo, Orion and Volans, until now silent, all nodded in agreement.

But Teresa still had one more question. "If that's the case, then why are you so eager to die at my hand?"

Caelum smiled a bit at that. "Eager is a rather strong word. More like…_accepting_."

Teresa raised an eyebrow.

"We've lived a long time, Teresa," he explained. "Longer than you can imagine. We've been all across this land dozens of times. We've seen everything, lived though hundreds of disasters, attacks, you named it. Eventually, you just stop fearing death. For creatures like us, where death it never certain, it just doesn't pay to worry about it, nor to fight it when it inevitably comes."

He stood up as well, and morphed back into his human form.

"I don't doubt that you will kill us," he continued. "I can assure you, none of us will try to fight. Just please know one thing: we are not monsters by choice, we are just trying to survive the same as everyone else."

By now, all the other awakened beings were on their feet and back in human form as well. It seemed this was how they wanted to die, perhaps subconsciously trying to grab onto humanity one last time. Teresa could only stare at them, her mind drawing a blank. These strange creatures, unlike any she'd ever seen before, she had no idea how to handle things from here.

"Awakened beings are just like the youma," she'd been told in training. "They are man eaters and must be destroyed at all costs."

Yes, she'd always agree with that, not because of the Organization, but because she'd seen that evil for herself over and over again. She couldn't let a few of them live just because they weren't quite as monstrous as the rest. Or in Caelum's case, a genuinely good person.

No, she had no other option. She'd let them have the bandits because _they_ were evil, but who knows what would happen if she let them go, they could start going after innocent people next. Caelum's behavior could just be an act for all she knew, to make her trust him, since he could never defeat her on his own. No matter what, she couldn't forget that they were, when it came right down to it, man eaters. She may not have been a soldier for the Organization anymore, but she would still do her duty, if only because it was the right thing to do.

_'It isn't right or wrong, good or bad. It just is.'_

The five of them waited patiently. They were ready to accept their demise with brave faces and not an ounce of struggle. Teresa sighed and drew her sword.

* * *

**A/N:** **I honestly don't believe Awakened Beings are truly evil. I don't want to glorify their eating people, but I don't think it makes them evil because it's an instinctual thing. Sure, a lot of them take pleasure in it, like the ones at the Battle in Pieta, but they are doing it by choice, that's what makes them evil. And I know awakening messes with you're personality, but with enough time, I think they could gradually go back to a more human mindset. Look at Isley, he really did care about Raki and Priscilla, I don't think a complete monster would be able to feel that way about someone.**

**I don't know, that's just my opinion.**

**Anyway, this'll be the last Teresa-centric chapter for a while. The next one (which will be out in a week. I will not take six months to update again, I swear) will focus on Noel and Sophia and what the Organization plans to do with them for lying. After that, we'll finally have a Clare centric chapter! *celebrates***

**Until then, see you later!**


	5. 04: She Who Wanders

"Geez, how much further," Noel grumbled. "We've been walking for three days now!"

"Complain to our superiors if you're so bothered by it," Sophia coolly responded, brushing some hair out of her eyes.

"Are you crazy?" Noel cried, turning to look at her friend. "We just got out of trouble with them, I'm not stupid enough to start anything else."

Sophia didn't answer, and kept her eyes forward as she descended back into her thoughts and memories.

_'I have to wonder if we truly _are_ out of trouble…'_

**  
_"Your next assignment is in the forests outside of Caedon," their handler, Colmar, explained. "There are reports of a 'Voracious Eater' in the area. From what we can gather, it's fairly weak by awakened being standards, so you too will be sent on your own."_

Noel nodded obediently, but Sophia studied the black clad man's face for any signs of there being more to this assignment than what they'd just been told. Unfortunately, Colmar had the best poker face she'd ever seen.

"Is there anything else we should know?" she asked, careful to keep her voice even.

Colmar smiled at her, she didn't like that smile.

"Of course not, I've told you all you need to know."

**  
"They're planning something…" Sophia muttered.

"What?"

Sophia stopped. She hadn't been aware that she was speaking out loud. Turning to her friend, she found Noel watching her with half-confused, half-bored eyes. Sophia eyed her, and answered:

"Doesn't it seem strange? It's been a week since we've gotten any assignments, and then suddenly they send us on a hunt like nothing's happened. That doesn't make you wonder, at all?"

Noel snorted and starting walking again. "The only thing _I'm _wondering about is why they haven't changed our ranks yet. With Teresa and Irene gone and Priscilla dead, we should've been promoted by now."

Sophia responded with a glare. "Noel…"

Noel seemed to take note of other girl's warning tone and responded accordingly.

"Okay, I guess it is a little o-"

A wave of yoki overtook their senses, and they stopped dead in their tracks.

"You feel that?" Noel asked, even though she knew the answer already.

The yoki signature was fairly strong, but not nearly as bad as the beasts they'd faced before (or Teresa). They drew their swords as the signal got closer. They could see something in the distance and the sounds of birds cawing and flying away confirmed that it was on the move.

"Finally," Sophia heard Noel whisper. Unfortunately, she couldn't share in her friend's anticipation. There was still something that felt wrong about all this.

As the beast came closer, they began to see an outline of it's shape. It was vaguely humanoid, but even from far away they could tell it was much too big to be a true human. When it was around ten feet away, and they could clearly see the greenish-yellow color of it's body, and the phlegm like goo covering it's entire form and dripping down the side, Sophia realized something very odd: the monster didn't have footsteps.

Or rather, it's steps made no noise.

Up close, she could here squelching sounds of the slime falling from it's body, but otherwise it was completely silent. Sophia cringed in disgust.

One look at Noel told her that her companion did not care one bit about the oddities of this supposed awakened being. The short haired girl was in a fighting stance and ready to charge. Sophia opened her mouth, ready to tell her friend that there was something strange going on, and that they shouldn't attack it head on without a plan. Noel would have none of it, letting out a battle cry and charging at the beast with that well known speed of hers.

In a split second, she was flying over the monster's head, her sword in post-swing, and the creature's head soared into the air alongside her.

She landed gracefully, watching with satisfaction as the beast's head smashed into a large boulder, turning to mush. Noel flicked the slime off her sword and smirked.

"Too easy," she cockily declared.

Sophia didn't take her eyes off the monster. It hadn't moved an inch since Noel had relieved it of it's head, but it hadn't fallen down dead yet either. She was so busy watching it, she didn't even notice Noel step in front of her.

"Hey, Sophia? Sophia?" Noel waved her hand in Sophia's face. "Come on, don't be jealous just because I beat the awakened being before you could. I mean, I know I'm good but…"

She trailed off when she realized Sophia's studying expression had turned to shock and alertness. Noel looked over her shoulder at the monster she'd just killed… only to drop her jaw when the slime of it's neck began shifting around, growing into what appeared to be an entirely new head!

The monster bared down on them. It had no eyes, but it slowly approached with no regard for any obstacles in it's way. As the two Claymores prepared for an attack, Noel voiced the question that both of them currently had on their minds.

"What the fuck?" 

* * *

Colmar and Rimuto sat in the latter's personal study, enjoying the finest whiskey and chatting amiably. Colmar glanced at the clock on the wall and pursed his lips.

"It's been a few days since they left," he said. "They've probably found it by now."

Rimuto smiled and poured himself another drink. "I know. Such a pity…" 

* * *

Despite their initial beliefs, the monster didn't attack them right away. It just 'watched' them intently for several minutes, as if studying them and their reactions to it. Both girls remained in battle positions, ready for any move it might make. Sophia had long since decided this was probably not an awakened being. It couldn't have been a yoma either, so exactly what it was remained a mystery.

The important thing now though was getting away from it without dying (if they managed to kill it in the process, that would be a good bonus). Sophia knew that Noel was probably very shaken by what had just happened, even though she wouldn't show it. Regenerating a limb was by no means an impossibility for certain Organization members, regenerating a _head _on the other hand…

Even so, Noel would probably want to jump right back into the battle, and though Sophia knew they had a good chance of not surviving, a large part of her wanted to as well.

As if reading each other's minds, the two broke into a run at the exact same time and raised their swords to strike. Sophia got it in the side and ran her sword right though to the other end, while Noel severed an arm, which the beast's slime reformed in an instant.

Likewise, it didn't seem at all bothered by Sophia almost cutting it in half. The wavy haired girl clicked her tongue as she skidded to the ground next to her partner.

"Goddammit," Noel was cursing. "What _is_ this thing?"

Sophia shook her head, "I don't know, but we can't give up yet."

Noel looked at Sophia, then gave a nod. "Yeah, you're right. Whatever it is, this bastard's not invincible."

The soldier went to charge again, but this time Sophia grabbed her cape, pulling her back.

"Oh no," she admonished. "You are _not_ just going to bum rush it again. It didn't work the last two times and it won't work now. We need a plan."

"We don't have time to make a plan," Noel retorted. "That thing is looking for us right now!"

Indeed, the beast was finally on the move, pushing past trees and rocks in search of it's attackers. So far, it was nowhere near them, but that would change soon enough.

"No matter where we cut it," Noel thought aloud. "It regenerates in an instant, completely effortlessly."

A light bulb went off in Sophia's head and she let out a gasp.

"Wait a minute," she whirled around. "That was only when we attacked it's limbs and body, when you cut off it's head, it took around thirty seconds to regenerate it."

Noel just blinked for a second before getting it, then her own eyes widened.

"Oh yeah, it may have a weak point up there!" Noel filled in. "So we should be attacking it's head."

Sophia nodded. "From cutting, I could tell that there's definitely nothing underneath all that slime, at least, nothing we can reach from down low."

Noel made a face. "Gross, I really don't want to have to touch that thing with my hands… but I have an idea."

The short haired girl was running at the monster before Sophia could stop her, calling back for her friend to distract it. Sophia wanted to yell at the idiot, but instead charged again and swung at the beast's leg. She missed, mostly because it had begun moving at an increased rate to swat at Noel, who'd taken to the trees in an attempt to get at the monster's head. Sophia watched as the beast's arm flew right at Noel, allowing her to jump up and chop it off, sending the limp flying to a rather tall tree just behind Sophia. Noel had her sword ready, and Sophia realized that her friend was about to try and stick her arm, sword and all into the beast's head. Sophia scoffed, there was no way that would actually work. Did Noel expect to reach all the way to the monsters heart and chop it in half from the inside?

_'It's worth a shot either way,'_ a voice in her head said.

Sophia sighed and prepared to strike again in order to buy Noel a small distraction as she'd requested. She stepped back a bit, right over a puddle of the monster's secreted slime.

And paused.

Sophia looked down at the puddle, confusion written across her features. The positioning of the puddle meant it could only be the monster's first head, but there had been a huge rock right there when it landed. How could it have vanished in only two minutes? She turned, and felt a sickening feeling rise in her stomach when the tall tree that had been sprayed by the slime began melting into nothing.

Sophia whirled around, just in time to see Noel charge forward, her arm stretched outwards.

"NOEL, NO!" She screamed, but it was too late.

The short haired girl's sword entered the beast first, her arm a split second after. When Noel was inside up to her shoulder, she began to scream in pain.

Sophia didn't really know what happened next. She assumed that she had jumped into the trees after Noel, as the next thing she knew, she was pulling the other soldier away from the beast, watching her friend's sword arm come away from her body, absorbed into the monstrous slime. The monster's own arm came up again, ready to smack them down to the ground. Sophia avoided the slime and chopped off the limb yet again. However, in her hurry to get down and keep the rest of Noel from being hit with the slime, Sophia came incredibly close to being 'slimed' herself. The closest had been a hit to her cape, which was now half burned away from the acid like qualities of the slime.

When she landed on the ground, Sophia made a break for the trees. Meanwhile the monster made one final swipe at it's fleeing prey. This one was so hard, it sent slime flying in all different directions, hitting many an unfortunate tree, bird and small animal. Sophia turned back around at this inopportune moment, to make sure the beast wasn't following her before she started running faster. The slime had hit the side of her face before she even saw it coming. Gasping at the intense pain, Sophia wiped as much of it off as she could with her sleeve (which she then ripped off to keep the slime from getting to her skin once it burned through the fabric).

Still, the remaining slime burned and bubbled the skin around her cheek and eye. Sophia closed the one eye, but it did nothing to stem the pain and when she tried to open it again, she realized with a sick feeling that she couldn't. 

* * *

It was the most quiet night of either of their lives. Noel awoke several hours ago, and had spent all her time since staring at the fire and rubbing the burned off stump where her arm used to be.

Sophia, meanwhile, had created a make shift eye patch for herself with the remaining part of her cape. It did a good job hiding her newly disfigured face as well, but she had to wonder what would happen if she walked into a town looking like this. She'd probably be thrown out for being a witch or something equally stupid.

She glanced over at Noel a couple of times, but her friend wouldn't acknowledge anything. Sophia had known Noel for years now, but she'd never seen the other girl look so impotently angry before. It was saddening and more than a bit of a discouragement.

There were many thoughts on Sophia's mind at the moment, most of which she knew she should voice. She just wasn't sure how Noel would respond.

"They never expected us to kill that thing," she finally muttered.

Noel said and did nothing, just stared even harder into the fire if that were possible.

"They were expecting _it_ to kill _us_."

This time, Noel reacted with a brief glance in her direction, but nothing else.

Sophia realized this conversation was going nowhere and remained quiet. She leaned her head against a tree, gazing at the sky with her remaining eye. She didn't know what to think anymore, and she didn't know how much time passed before she heard Noel shift positions, followed by the sounds of tearing fabric. Sophia looked at the fire again, just in time to see Noel throw her symbol into it.

"As far as I'm concerned," Noel said in a voice Sophia had never heard before. "They succeeded."

Sophia looked at her friend, then nodded both in understanding and agreement as she tore off her own symbol, and let it join Noel's in the flames.

"We should try to find Irene," Sophia said. "She must've known something like this would happen."

Noel nodded.

"We'll have to get new swords," Sophia continued. Her's had melted from the slime slowly, but eventually all that remained was a useless hilt, which Sophia had angrily thrown into the forest.

"_You_ have to get a new sword," Noel bitterly corrected. "I don't have my sword arm anymore, so what good will it do me?"

At that, and in spite of it all, Sophia snorted.

"Stop being dramatic, Noel, you'll just have to learn some different techniques."

Noel didn't answer, and neither girl talked for the rest of the night. They just sat back down and watched in silence as the final thing tying them to the cruel Organization turned to ashes and smoke. 

* * *

Teresa sat against her sword, arms crossed and eyes closed. She hadn't been able to take her mind off yesterday's events all day. She'd never before felt conflicted about her duty, even after defecting. As evil as the Organization was, they were right about the yoma, and so they should have been right about the awakened beings too.

They shouldn't still have their humanity, should they?"

Teresa sighed, it was all very confusing. She wasn't sure if she'd made the right choice last night, but she supposed it didn't matter.

Teresa furrowed her brow and opened her eyes when she felt one of their yoki signatures change a bit.

"I told you not to go anywhere, Orion," she said without looking at the redhead.

"Who are you, my mom?" The tall man scoffed.

"No," Pavo answered for Teresa. "She's the person who's going to chop you into pieces if you don't do as she says, remember?"

"Oh I'm sooo scared."

Teresa's fingers were suddenly itching for her sword. The others hadn't been a problem, but Orion was such a loudmouth it made her want to reach into his throat and rip his voice box out. Beside her, Caelum rolled his eyes.

"I know how you feel," he said as if reading her mind. "He's always been a pain in the ass."

Teresa glanced at him. "So why not leave, or get rid of him?"

Caelum shrugged. "He may be annoying, but I do consider him a friend. Plus, it would be too quiet without him."

"Well, friend or not, I'll kill him soon," Teresa assured him. "The second even one of you steps out of line, you'll all be dead."

Caelum nodded. "I don't doubt that."

And it was true, he didn't. 

* * *

The pain was unbearable, like nothing any human should ever feel, especially not young girls.

Clare's lip was bleeding from how hard she was biting it. She held tight to Elena, her new friend whom she'd met in training. The other girl was letting her tears flow freely, but Clare refused to allow herself such a luxury. Instead, she focused entirely on the face of her most hated enemy. Her sadness and pain was channeled into rage towards the one called 'Teresa', who'd taken everyone and everything Clare held dear to her.

_'This pain's nothing,'_ she told herself again and again. _'It's nothing, nothing at all. It'll be worth in when Teresa dies by my blade…'_

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so this one isn't as long as the last one, but some important stuff happened, and will continue to happen in the next chapter.**

**So you're probably wondering what that thing Noel and Sophia were fighting is… well, I can't tell you yet. That will be revealed later in the story. One of the great things about Claymore is all the potential for weird monsters. XD**

**The next chapter will be posted next week, and as I said before, will be Clare centric. See you then!**


	6. 05: The Devil's Tree

**A/N: When you read this chapter, please remember that Clare does not have Teresa's flesh and blood inside her here, but a regular yoma and as such, has been given a higher rank than in canon.**

* * *

**_ONE YEAR LATER_**

The town of Peior was a quiet little string of shops and houses. Barely 300 people inhabited it; there were no major landmarks or events anywhere in the vicinity. It was just a tiny, average village, not a place where one might expect a youma invasion to take place. But then, a youma was not one to discriminate. Anywhere with humans to eat was good enough for them.

This is why the Organization's newest graduate was currently about to enter the town's boundaries. Her long blonde hair swayed in the light wind, and her features were set with hard indifference and determination. This would be her first assignment, and Clare knew she would not fail.

The townspeople erupted in whispers as she passed them on her way to the town leader's residence. She paid them no mind, her handler, Rubel, had told her to expect as much. "'Claymores,' as they'll call you," he had said. "Are not too well liked by the general public in spite of the work they do."

She couldn't really fault them for their fear anyway. Clare knew all too well how dangerous and evil one of her own could be. She closed her eyes tight, forcing the images of the witch, Teresa, away. There would be a time for that, but she knew she wasn't ready yet to track the killer down and take her revenge.

Clare approached the building and walked inside without knocking, knowing they were expecting her. As she thought, five men rose from their round table discussion to nervously greet her. In the middle was the still seated town leader. She stood before him, and he studied her quietly before forcing a smile.

"It seems the Gods have answered our prayers," he proclaimed, gratefully reaching a hand out to her. "We've been praying for your swift arrival. Thank you for coming so quickly."

"There are no Gods," Clare coldly responded.

The men gasped at her audacity, but said no more. They knew better than to antagonize a Claymore.

"My prompt arrival was due to your town being close by and because I was told the situation was urgent. No God was involved in that, I assure you."

The men looked to their leader who's smile had faltered quite a bit.

"I-I see," he answered shakily. "Well, either way, we are grateful to you for coming. Would you like your pay now or…"

"A stranger in black will come for my fee later," Clare answered as she turned to walk outside. "I'll just go deal with that youma now. When I'm done, I'll be on my way. I know you don't really want me here."

She stepped outside before the man could give any false assurances that this wasn't true. Clare glanced in several different directions. It seemed all the townspeople had fled to their homes, fearful of the youma, or of Clare, or both.

It didn't matter to her, the youma couldn't hide for much longer. She couldn't sense any yoki in this area, but somewhere behind her, she felt a small amount. Clare turned on her heel and walked in that direction. This wouldn't take very long.

* * *

"I can't believe they're making me do this," Hilary grumbled to herself as she sat hidden behind the House's chimney, a yoki suppressant keeping her inconspicuous.

For some reason, several Organization members were wary of Elgiz's success in brainwashing the girl named Clare. Throughout her training, she'd made no indication that she wanted to escape, but that could've easily been just because she was smart enough to know that she'd be killed before taking a single step outside their boundaries. Now that she was out on her own, the Organization didn't want to take any chances.

So Hilary had been assigned to watch the girl just in case. By her count, the suppressant would wear off in about 15 minutes, so if the girl did decide to defect and run, Hilary would just have to wait patiently and then ambush her before she could get too far.

Below her, Clare, the Organization's newly ranked number 27 walked purposefully up the steps and into the house. Hilary had taken the liberty of looking in on the residents before Clare arrived, and she almost had to laugh at what she saw. It was like the perfect cookie cutter family of everyone's dreams. A man, his wife, a young son and daughter, and if she wasn't mistaken, another child was on the way.

Or _would_ be were the pregnant 'mother' not a youma in disguise. She had to wonder how the beast was able to fake a pregnancy. The unborn child was long dead, of course. Hilary closed her eyes and sighed when she heard the sounds of a door being forced open, and the growing screams of the husband and children as Clare dispatched the monster of it's head.

Five seconds later, Clare walked out of the building, heedless of the hysterical family she'd left behind with the youma's corpse. Hilary stared after her in wonderment. She had never seen anyone so nonchalant on their first ever assignment. Most new soldier's were a bit nervous their first time out. She'd seen several who even refrained from killing a youma that was in human disguise. Clare, it seemed, was completely calm and accepting of her mission in life.

Hilary almost had to wonder if the girl would be so calm were it really a human she was killing. Or if she'd have that same collected air about her whenever she encountered Teresa again.

"She's certainly an interesting one," Hilary said to herself as she slid off the roof and back onto the ground.

* * *

With the youma dead, Clare prepared to take her leave. The family she'd left behind was still sobbing in the distance, but she didn't let it bother her. She'd done them a favor, getting rid of that youma. It probably would've killed them all that night, and even if it hadn't, they'd have to eventually notice their matriarch wasn't exactly human anymore.

Clare stepped towards the forest, not expecting anymore interactions with the frightened townspeople. To her surprise, one of them suddenly gripped her shoulder. She turned, unsure of what to expect. Nothing could've prepared her for the look of deep fear on the face of the young man who'd stopped her.

"You can't go that way," he said in a wavering voice.

Behind him, several other townspeople were nodding in agreement as they tentatively exited their homes and gathered around the Silver-Eyed Witch. Clare looked back into the man's eyes giving him a challenging look.

"And why not?"

The man looked away from her and toward the forested area at the edge of their town. He swallowed.

"That's where the Devil's Tree is," he fearfully whispered.

An ominous air came over the place, but it didn't faze Clare.

"The Devil's Tree?" She repeated in monotone.

The crowd collectively nodded and spoke quietly amongst themselves.

"It's an old tree that's stood for thousands of years," a young woman explained, taking a small step forward. "Several of our own have been in that forest, and they were all found some time later, driven completely insane. All they could tell us was that they'd seen the Devil, and many of them committed suicide a short time after. And then, the town leader's son went out to try and find this so-called Devil. He came back alive, but horribly traumatized. He'd gotten away before the Devil could take his mind like it had all the others.

"He described the tree the Devil sat under. A huge oak tree with a trunk the size of ten normal trees. It's branches are like the claws of demons. The area around it is completely silent; no birds, squirrels, or bugs can be found anywhere near it. They all know better than to approach the Devil himself."

By now, the other townspeople where shaking in fear. Clare however, was simply bored.

"Interesting story," she commented blandly. "I'll be going now."

She jerked her arm out of the man's grasp and continued walking into the forest, heedless of the warnings shouted at her retreating form.

"Don't! The Devil will get you!"

"Forget it," Clare heard a man say. "If she doesn't want to listen, it's her fault. Not like we can stop a Claymore."

_'Smart words.'_

Clare moved nimbly through the trees, the town getting smaller and smaller behind her.

A Devil's Tree, how ridiculous. Some people would believe anything. There were no Gods, so therefore there was no Devil. Simple as that.

Clare trudged through the shroud of branches and leaves. This was by far the thickest forest she'd ever traveled though. Brushing some hair behind her ear, Clare forced her way through several bushes.

She noticed that the sounds of bird calls and the footsteps of running squirrels were fading fast.

* * *

Hilary moved quietly around the trees, around ten feet behind the new warrior. She'd been listening as Number 27 was told the story of the supposed 'Devil's Tree'. Frankly, it was stupid and naïve to believe that if there was really Devil, he'd been spending all his time in a tree messing with the heads of passerby (or lack thereof).

Something about the story struck her though. Obviously, there was no Devil, but she didn't find it hard to believe that there really had been people driven insane by _something_ in this forest.

And she knew exactly where that 'something' had to have come from.

* * *

Clare felt it first, and it stopped her dead in her tracks: a yoki signature unlike anything she'd ever felt before. It was coming from somewhere to the left, so she turned on a heel and headed in that direction.

It wasn't a particularly strong yoki. She wondered briefly if it was an awakened being poorly attempting to hide it's yoki. She had a feeling though that this wasn't the case.

The yoki became stronger as she approached a clearing. She pushed through some bushes and paused, taking in the scene before her.

A tree, the largest and tallest she'd ever seen. It's bark was obscenely thick, and the hunched over branches gave the impression that the tree was a monster rounding on it's prey. The surrounding area was deathly silent. Not a single living being to be found.

"So this is the Devil's Tree," Clare muttered.

It had to be. This was exactly the sort of thing that would terrify a superstitious village like Peior. Of course, it wasn't quite as large as the townsfolk had made it out to be, but that was a given.

What had Clare's attention now anyway, was the creature she'd just noticed sitting with perfect balance on one of the lower branches.

It was the size of a human, and for a moment looked to be made of nothing but pure white hair. On closer inspection though, it clearly had a human face, that of an elderly male. It's eyes were closed, but it seemed to hear her coming as it stood tall, revealing itself to be completely naked.

Clare narrowed her eyes in disgust, but didn't back down.

"You must be the Devil," she said matter-of-factly.

The creature didn't answer, and in the blink of in eye, it vanished.

Clare reached for her sword, feeling it coming in from behind. It was faster, and got her in the back before her sword was fully unsheathed. She gasped in pain as her body fall to the ground. She didn't hesitate to get back up and wield her sword once again. She swung at the creature, but it dodged and aimed a kick at Clare's head. She moved to the side, avoiding the blow, and swung again while the monster was recovering, this time hitting home.

The beast screamed as blood spurted from the new wound in it's chest. The scream quickly went from pained to enraged as it lunged forward and threw it's weight against Clare. The soldier fell on her back with the beast on top of her. What a foolish move on it's part. Clare held her sword tight, she just needed to push this thing off of her and stab it through the heart while she had it down. This was not the Devil, it would die just like any other living creature.

The monster's face was mere inches above hers. She could smell it's putrid breath and see globs of saliva hanging off it's lips. Throughout the fight, the creature's eyes had remained closed, but at that moment, they opened up. Cat-like gold stared into hypnotized sliver.

The world around Clare faded.

* * *

_"Mommy… Daddy… it hurts… everything hurts… why won't you wake up? Mommy…"_

What is this?

_"Please, please don't hurt my mommy. Why… I thought you only hurt monsters… why my mommy and daddy? Why?"_

What is this?

_"You foolish child, you should die along with your parents. They were just weak humans, and you're know better. Look at you, crying, whimpering…"_

Stop it.

_"You're weak, weaker than you're parents were. That's why they died, and that's why you'll join them, girl…"_

_"Stupid girl…"_

_"Foolish girl… "_

Stop it!

_"Get up… wake up… little girl… don't you have a name?"_

Stop!

_"…I know what you're name is… it's Clare."_

_"Teresa…"_

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

* * *

Her arm swung up as her scream rang out. The beast's arm was severed at the shoulder and it roared it in pain as it lifted off of her. Clare was left gasping for breath and fighting back tears, her mind racing and falling into a jumbled mess from the strain of the assault. She understood now just why Peior thought this creature to be the Devil.

Meanwhile, Hilary watched the spectacle in pure wonderment. By now, the yoki suppressant had worn off, so she grabbed her sword and charged. Clare was still on the ground. She'd laid under that beast for twenty second doing nothing but staring into it's eyes. Hilary wondered if she'd overestimated the girl. Why would she be so scared that she'd be frozen like that?

Then the creature's rage filled eyes met hers, and Hilary was lost in a sea of long dead voices.

_"Careful now… easy… you don't want to break anything…"_

_"I can't…"_

_"Think of it as an art. Keep your hand steady, don't press down too hard…"_

_"I can't…"_

_"You're doing a fine job, I'm so proud of you, Hilary."_

_"I can't…"_

_"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"_

Hilary screamed and swung her sword just as Clare had. The monster dodged, and with a snarl, grabbed it's severed arm and took off with lightning speed into the forest. Hilary was left trying to control the shaking of her body.

"What was that?" She hissed to herself. "I thought I'd forgotten about… how could it have known…"

"Are you alright?"

Hilary jolted and looked to the side. Clare, it seemed, had composed herself from her own attack. Hilary began to rethink her opinion of the girl for the second time that day.

"I'm fine," the older girl answered as she got back on her feet. "Just annoyed that it got away."

"How long have you been following me?" Clare bluntly asked.

Hilary clicked her tongue. "You noticed, huh?"

"I had a feeling."

Hilary nodded. "I was just passing by, that's all."

"I see," Clare answered before looking away.

Hilary could tell the girl knew she was lying, but it didn't really matter. Clare was too busy staring after that monster to really care that the Organization was tailing her at the moment.

"What was that thing?" she said is a wispy voice.

Hilary glanced in that direction as well, the yoki signature had completely vanished along with the monster, but that didn't shock her in the least.

"No idea," she lied.

* * *

Rubel stood on a cliff, overlooking the clearing. He watched as Number 12 and Number 27 walked away together, a tiny smile crossing his features.

_'What an interesting battle. I suppose this won't be necessary to report back to my so-called Superiors. What they don't know won't hurt them, after all.'_


	7. 06: Hateful Resolve

The clearing was calm and serene as morning washed over it. Hilary sat against a tall oak tree watching the sun poke out over the horizon. She'd been up all night, which was a common occurrence. Even as a human she never needed much sleep.

Speaking of which, her unwitting companion still hadn't woken up. She and Clare had walked non-stop all day yesterday. Neither of them said more than two words to each other since leaving behind the Devil's Tree. It had been more than a bit awkward. Neither of them knew enough about the other to make actual conversation, and Clare was clearly still wary of Hilary.

The girl in question groaned and rolled over in her sleep. Hilary dimly wondered what she was dreaming about; the look on her face told her it wasn't a particularly happy dream.

Sighing, Hilary stood up and stretched her arms out. Grabbing her sword, she walked into the trees, figuring that if Clare woke up, she'd either wait or just go on without her. It didn't matter either way to Hilary.

The Claymore briskly walked through the trees, stepping on twigs and rocks and enduring bugs flying around her face the whole way, but she never showed a single sign that these actions were phasing her. She tried to never let anything get to her. Emotions were an obstruction, especially anger. Anger and fear. She'd been suppressing those emotions for decades now. Ever since-

_"I can't…"_

Hilary jolted. Stopping dead in her tracks, she clenched her firsts and bit her lip, willing the memory to go away and cursing to hell the beast that had dragged it out of her.

All the years she worked to push that memory to the farthest regions of her mind had seemingly vanished the moment that… that _thing_ looked in her eyes. If only it was there in front of her now, she could take all the anger she unwittingly felt out on it. She wished she could kill it not only for bringing back her past, but for making her so _angry_.

More than anything, Hilary hated being angry.

Eventually, the trees parted before her, and she felt the warmth of the rising sun wash over her, calming her flustered mind. Sunrise was always her favorite part of the day for this very reason. She basked in the light for a moment, until her senses picked up something, making her eye twitch in annoyance.

Grumbling, Hilary followed the metaphorical scent for a quarter of a mile, ending up at a small farm. Two men were visible hoeing a garden, and a little boy was playing in the grass until a woman, clearly his mother, came out to bring him in. She scooped up the boy, said a few words to the man on the left, and walked back inside, shutting the door behind her.

Hilary approached the house with purpose, not caring when the farmer suddenly caught sight of her when she was about ten feet away and gasped.

"It- It's a Claymore!" He stammered in obvious fear.

Beside him, the assistant clenched his hoe just a bit tighter, an act that wasn't lost on Hilary's keen senses. She hoisted herself over the surrounding fence with ease, disregarding the farmer's objections.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" The assistant demanded, taking a defensive stance and grasping the hoe like it was a weapon.

Hilary's response was a mere smirk, before she quickly pulled out her sword and slashed the 'assistant's' head clean off. The farmer gave a shout and fell backwards, edging away from the scene with fear and horror. Hilary studied her latest kill for a moment before glancing with annoyance at the farmer.

"Oh, stop that," she said sharply to him. "I just saved you and your family's lives and that's the thanks I get?"

"What are you talking about," The man snapped back venomously. "You just killed my assistant!"

At this, Hilary raised an eyebrow. "Oh, did I? You might want to take another look."

Though clearly angry, the farmer knew better than to object and his eyes moved from her for the first time since she'd attacked. They fell to his fallen assistant, and he gasped.

In death, the man's skin had changed to a murky brown. His fingernails became claws, and his severed head now had a monstrous face, sharp teeth bared in an eternal snarl.

"A youma," the man breathed. "He was…"

During this time, Hilary had been wiping her sword of the creatures blood, she liked to keep her weapon as clean as possible.

"I'm surprised you didn't notice," she chit-chatted casually. "He was working for you after all. What, he never took any weird trips at night or came back with blood on his mouth?"

"I just hired him yesterday," the man answered miserably, the full ramification of what could have been hitting him hard.

"Perhaps you should put that in the job description when you get a new one," Hilary snorted. "Those who are youma in disguise need not apply."

Before the man could answer, his wife called out from inside the house. The man scrambled to his feet, reassuring her that everything was fine and ordering her not to come out of the house or let their son out. Hilary watched him with disinterest, but felt a bit like laughing when he turned around and grimaced, likely hoping she would've left when his back was turned. Sadly for him, Hilary wasn't letting him off that easy.

"You should consider yourself lucky I came around," she told him coolly. "If I hadn't, you'd all be youma food by the end of the week. As such, a little appreciation would be nice."

"What do you want?" The man snapped. "I know how your Organization cons villages out of all their money, you filthy creatures. Well, I never asked for you to kill that yoma, whether I'm appreciative or not doesn't matter, I don't owe you a cent."

"And whoever said I wanted your money?" Hilary calmly answered.

The farmer started a bit, his anger fading into surprise as Hilary eyed his vegetable garden.

"Like you said," she went on. "I wasn't hired, so even though you _will_ be paying me, it won't be in money."

* * *

Clare woke with a start. Really, there's no other way one can wake up when the cause is something being thrown at their face. Clare groaned and clutched her forehead, more in annoyance at being woken up so violently than in pain.

"Get up," Hilary's stern voice sounded from somewhere behind the younger Claymore. "You've slept long enough."

Forcing her tired eyes open, Clare beheld the sight of Hilary leaning against a tree and munching on a very small turnip.

"I got you some breakfast," Hilary motioned toward the ground, and Clare looked down to find another turnip lying at her feet. She suddenly understood just what had been thrown at her.

Still irritated, Clare picked up the vegetable and ate quietly. The turnip was small enough that she was able to finish the whole thing, but large enough to completely sate her miniscule appetite.

When they were fed, they wasted no time in getting back to their journey. Like the day before, the long silence that followed was bit tense. Hilary got the feeling Clare wanted to say something to her, but for whatever reason was holding it back. She didn't care, at least that's what she told herself. Little by little, she began to wonder just what was on the younger girl's mind.

"Problem?" Hilary finally asked several minutes later.

It took Clare several seconds to answer, and at first, Hilary wondered if she was even going to.

"Why were you following me?"

Hilary glanced at her but gave no other reaction. Inwardly, she was rolling her eyes, she really didn't want to do this right now.

"I already answered that question."

"And I don't believe you," was Clare's immediate response. "So why don't you tell me the truth?"

Hilary just smirked at the girl.

"Not very trusting, are you?" She baited the younger girl. "That'll get you into trouble someday."

Clare's response was a cold glare that stopped Hilary in her tracks. The two of them did little more than stare at each other for several minutes, as if daring the other to talk or move first. Hilary could tell already she wouldn't win this battle of silence, and so began to speak again. Only this time, she told the truth. Somewhat.

"The Organization wants you tailed for the time being," Hilary stated matter-of-factly. "You've never made it secret what your intentions are. They want to make sure you don't become a liability, running off and getting yourself killed on a fool's errand."

There was a spike in Clare's yoki, indicating Hilary had struck a nerve; perhaps more than one.

"And how is it any of _their_ business?" Clare's voice shook as she struggled to suppress her growing anger. "I will continue to perform my duties, so why should it matter to them what I do in my spare time?"

"What spare time?" Hilary countered, coming close to laughter. "Now that you belong to the Organization, you don't have that luxury anymore. Probably for the best in your case. I know exactly what it is you want to do, and I'm here to tell you that you will never succeed. It's like a human going up against a God."

Hilary sensed the attack before Clare made her move. The girl was still slow in her delivery, a clear sign of the novice she was. Their swords clanged together, creating sparks. Clare pulled her sword away in an instant and attacked again with an enraged growl. Hilary blocked every single one of Clare's attacks easily. Over time, as the younger girl got angrier and used up more of her energy, the attacks became weaker and in more predictable places, until they were downright pathetic attempts and cutting her. Hilary decided it was time to end this and feinted to the right, aiming a kick at Clare's side and knocking the girl to the ground.

Clare groaned, both in pain and in anger. When she struggled to get back up, Hilary pressed her foot down on Clare's back, keeping her from moving anymore.

"See that?" She said to the heavily breathing girl. "I'm number 12 in the Organization, not only that, I have infinitely more experience than you. You are number 27. Teresa was number 1. She's without a doubt the strongest warrior this land has ever seen. If she were to awaken, her power would more than likely rival that of the three Abyssal One's combined. Now with that in mind, tell me…"

Hilary bent down to look in Clare's rage filled eyes and gave her a taunting smile.

"How do you plan on defeating her, when you can't even win against me?"

Clare responded by spitting in her face. It had been by far not what Hilary had been expecting. She would be loathed to admit it in the years that followed, but her reaction to Clare's action was to shriek and jump backwards, frantically trying to wipe the saliva off her face. In the time it took, Clare got a hold of her sword again. Hilary found herself staring into the cold eyes of the number 27, a blade resting just above her shoulder and barely an inch away from chopping her head off.

Though she could've easily thrown Clare off after she regained her bearings, Hilary did nothing. She believed firmly that Clare wasn't going to kill her since it would only lead to her own destruction. The two soldiers stared into each other's eyes for the second time that day, only this time it was less challenging and more expecting. At least on Hilary's part.

"Make no mistake," Clare muttered in the coldest voice Hilary had ever heard. "I don't care if the Organization doesn't like it. Until my dying day, I will _never_ stop hunting Teresa. If it takes the rest of my life, if I have to bring down the entire Organization, if I have to awaken and destroy myself, I _will_ kill Teresa of the Faint Smile."

Clare removed the sword and stepped away. Without waiting for any kind of response, she took off in a dead run through the trees ahead. Hilary didn't try to stop her. Everything Clare had just said and done made it clear she didn't want to be followed. That was fine, Hilary didn't feel the need to anyway. The resolve this girl carried was like iron, nothing would ever stop her, not even death itself; certainly not the Organization.

This girl just became more interesting ever time Hilary saw her. And as she returned her sword to it's rightful place and began walking in a different direction from where Clare had run off, she found herself hoping their paths would one day cross again.

Hopefully, before Clare managed to locate Teresa.

* * *

At this very moment, Teresa herself was eating some berries she'd gotten in the forest. Her mind was troubled, something her companions had noticed but only Caelum found the courage to ask her about.

"You aren't acting like yourself," the man told her. "Frankly, I'm worried about you."

"Don't be," she'd responded. "I feel perfectly fine."

Sighing, Teresa closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, she studied the sleeping awakened beings like she had many other times before. The year she'd spent with them had gone by much faster than she realized. They'd gradually become less of a nuisance, even Orion, and she could almost say she genuinely enjoyed their company (just never to their faces). She found she got along best with Caelum, mostly because he seemed to be the only one among the group with any common sense.

Her eyes traveled from him, past all the others, and to the one she still didn't understand after all these years. Mensa was just as much an enigma now as he'd been the day she met him. Over the past year he hadn't spoken a word to her or anyone else. He would sometimes look at Teresa with a peculiar expression, but more often then not he was just off in his own world. It made Teresa wonder if he was mentally challenged, but when she'd brought it up to Caelum, the large man just shook his head and told her not to think too much on Mensa.

That was easier said than done. Even though he didn't speak to her, Teresa often got the feeling he was trying to convey something to her with his eyes whenever he stared at her for an extended period of time. The fact that he rarely slept also bothered her a bit. He was sleeping right now, at least she thought he was, she didn't hold it above him to fake it. Really, Mensa was just strange in general, and the fact that none of his companions seemed to know much more about him than she did only made it worse.

Exhaling, Teresa turned away from the group and laid down on her back, staring up at the sky. Her mind shifted back to the thoughts that had been plaguing her for over a week now. Thoughts that entered her mind only at a certain point once a year. She'd never told a single person about them, sometimes she wondered if she would've told Clare eventually (thinking about Clare was even more painful). Teresa gave another sigh, trying to force the memories away so she could get some sleep, even though she knew it was futile.

There was nothing she could do about it. It was simply that time of year again.

* * *

**A/N: Not a very action heavy chapter, I know, but it was still necessary. The next chapter will be a bit... different. You'll see what I mean when it's posted.**

**Until then, don't forget to review!**


	8. Origins 01: Spiders

The village of Diogel was one of the safest for miles around. While every other town in the vicinity had suffered at least one youma attack, Diogel boasted a completely youma-free history. This wasn't arguable, it was a well-documented fact.

Diogel was named for it's founder, who created the town over two hundred years prior. He was a scholar before his time and kept a log of all that went on around him. He served as town leader from the time he founded it, to the day of his death nearly sixty years later. Every single day in between was recorded in one of Diogel's many scrolls. The full collection was kept deep in the bowels of the Great Town Library, where it would remain for years to come. Diogel's son would take over the town following his father's death. Like his father before him, he kept a written record of all events in the town, mundane or otherwise. Every town leader since followed this example without fail.

It is from this extensive library that one could prove Diogel's safety. No one knew for sure what kept the youma away: The climate? The location? The wildlife. Divine intervention? It was a mystery for the ages, and frankly, few townspeople cared enough to investigate.

They were safe from the youma. That was all that mattered.

To many, this alone made Diogel the perfect place to live, but it was those ideas that proved the exact opposite. Because of the town's reported safety, everyone was clamoring to buy land there. The result was massive over crowding, to the point where town officials had to draft a law limiting the amount of people who could inhabit Diogel at any given point.

This law, though it did help the situation, created a brand new problem: families who already resided in Diogel and wanted children were now by law required to only have a maximum of two. Any family with more than two children already were exempt. Any family merely _expecting_ a third child was out of luck. Five families were forced to leave within the first two days of the law's passing. No one wanted to make them go, most of those families were well known and liked by the populace, but the town officials wouldn't be moved. Prayer groups were held both days for the families, asking the Gods to protect them from the evils of the world, and that they would somewhere out there find the safety they enjoyed in Diogel.

Months passed, during which time only two other families were made to leave thanks to the birth of a third child. Couples with two children, though not particularly numerous at this point, did whatever they could to avoid another pregnancy, aside from the obvious. The last thing they wanted was to be forced away from Diogel. It was a tense time, but still relatively peaceful. The remaining citizens, both new and old, worked together to keep Diogel running as smoothly as possible. Farmers cultivated crops, blacksmiths created tools, bakers made bread, the town's documentation continued, and life went on as normal.

As normal as it could, anyway. 

* * *

Clouds rolled by overhead, slowly darkening as thunder began to rumble. It started soft, and grew louder every second. Most of the citizens had retreated to their homes long ago, not wanting to get caught in the downpour. The only person still outdoors was a young girl, no older than 10 years old.

She stood stock-still, feet planted firmly on the ground and a large rock in her hand. Before her was the wall that surrounded Diogel, made of rock and mortar, erected long before the girl or even her parents were born. Her eyes narrowed, gazing with utmost concentration at the wall, specifically a small white hole drawn with chalk. The hole rested in the center of two outer circles. Scratches were visible all around it where several other rocks had failed to hit the bullseye. The girl was hardly discouraged by her repeated failures, she never gave up on anything.

She brushed a piece of long black hair out of her eyes over her ear. Her mother had suggested more than once that she cut it a bit, but she always refused. She had too much pride in her dark hair to ever tamper with it.

She slowly brought her rock throwing hand up, steadily aiming for the circle. This time- this time for sure she'd get it. She'd get it and then her stupid brother wouldn't be able to tease her for her 'terrible aim' anymore. She'd show him.

She reared her arm back, breathing deeply to keep herself calm, too much excitement might mess up her aim. Her arm snapped forward, lobbing the rock at her makeshift target with great speed.

Time slowed down, the next half second felt more like an hour or two. She alternated back and forth between confidence that she had finally succeeded and doubt that she could actually do it after so many failures.

The rock made impact with a light tap that was overshadowed by a clap of thunder. She paid it no heed, thunder and lightning didn't scare her in the slightest. Her eyes stayed on the target. It had hit the circle.

At least, she was pretty sure it had, it certainly _looked_ like it had. She ran to it, ready to make a closer inspection. A new scratch would be the tell tale sign, and so she searched the circle and the surrounding area for one. She found it almost immediately, dead centered in the tiny white circle. She was still, not moving or speaking, though something swelled up inside of her, something that brought a swift end to the silence.

"I did it!" The girl cheered, doing a little dance she definitely would never have done if other villagers were around. "I finally did it! Take that, Samu-"

Her dance had lead her to spin around on a heel, bringing her face to face with an enormous spider hovering directly in front of her. She froze completely the moment she saw it, caught in a somewhat ridiculous pose she hardly noticed. The spider crawled downwards an inch on it's web, and it was enough to startle her into screaming and falling on her behind.

She edged away, eyes wide with fear. This changed when she heard soft laughter from within the shadows, becoming surprise and anger once she recognized the voice. A young man stepped out. His own shaggy black hair blew gently in the wind and his blue eyes were filled with mirth as he gazed at her fallen form.

He eyeballed the spider, which hadn't moved again, and then reached out to it. The girl let out a squeak and instantly regretted it. She was only giving him more things to tease her about, as if he didn't already have enough. Her insides shook with fear as she watched the spider crawl along his fingers with it's long, disgusting eight legs. He gave her a nonchalant glance, a smile forming.

"Still terrified of spiders," he playfully remarked. "Aren't you getting a bit old for that, Teresa?"

Her response was simply to glare at him, and allow a soft growl to escape her throat as she hoisted herself back up.

"I wasn't scared," Teresa muttered in response.

He snorted under his breath, further annoying the young girl.

"Hey, relax," he said while bending over to let the spider crawl off him. "It's okay to be afraid sometimes. You're pretty much fearless anyway. I don't think even the toughest man in this town would go outside when a storm's on the way."

Teresa didn't answer, instead she started walking away. Their house was just within sight, she could be back there in no time at all. She could even see the light in the window that her mother kept going whenever she or Samuel were out of the house. Speaking of which…

"Don't be like that," he commented, easily catching up to her and making her groan. "I saw you get that target, congratulations. That only took what- sixty initial failures?"

"You didn't get it on your first try either," Teresa shot back, his words finally getting to her.

"True," Samuel responded, his smile becoming smug. "But it took me ten tries, not sixty."

"Quit exaggerating!" Teresa snapped. "And anyway, I wasn't scared of that spider. It just startled me, that's all."

Samuel raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, so all those time you ran screaming from a tiny little spider on the wall was because they _startled_ you. All of them?"

"Yes," Teresa shouted back, her defensiveness growing to it's peak as she crossed her arms around herself and walked faster.

She could hear Samuel chuckle and it made her blood boil. Luckily, no more conversation took place as the siblings made it to the house just as rain started to fall. Samuel scowled, making Teresa smile; her older brother never liked the rain. The door was closed, but not unlocked. Teresa opened it easily and the two stepped inside. The light they'd seen in the window glowed brilliantly on the sill. A large candle their mother had bought from her favorite store.

The woman herself was laying on the couch with her hand over her head and her eyes closed. Teresa blinked, this wasn't how she was used to seeing her mother. Normally, the pretty young woman was alert and attentive, her eyes somehow seeing Teresa and Samuel no matter how much they tried to hide, especially when they were getting into mischief. It made sense that, being a midwife, she'd have these traits, but it did get frustrating when no matter what she did, Teresa was always caught with her hand in the figurative cookie jar.

The ten year old glanced at her older brother, to find him in a similar state of confusion. They both jumped when the woman sighed loudly and lowered her hand.

"Just where have you to been?" Her eyes were now opened, but currently were facing the ceiling. This only made the two children more nervous.

Their mother sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She clicked her tongue, staring accusingly at her children.

"You realize there's a storm coming, right?" She jerked her head at the locked tight window. Her timing was excellent, as a bolt of lightning struck and thunder rumbled right behind her.

Teresa and Samuel glanced at each other again, both trying to hide how shaken they were. They had no idea why their loving, kind mother was so irritable all of a sudden. She never acted like this even after delivering a stillborn baby or performing a termination. Whatever could've caused this change was beyond them. As it was, they would both be in trouble if they didn't think of a way to appease her. Teresa was thinking hard for something to say when Samuel coughed.

"It's my fault, mom," he lied, stunning the now wide eyed Teresa. "I was playing by the wall, I made this little game of trying to hit a target with some rocks. I guess I got a bit carried away and lost track of time."

He paused, but their mother's thoughtful stare urged him to continue.

"Don't blame Teresa, she tried to tell me we should go home, but I didn't listen. I guess she just knows better than me."

Samuel ended his speech with a shrug and an apologetic smile. Teresa had to actively work at not gawking at him. She kept her eyes firmly on her mother's face, waiting for some kind of response, hopefully a good one.

The mother stood and slowly walked towards them, arms crossed over her chest. She studied both children, perhaps for signs that this story was a lie. Teresa remained as emotionless as possible, surprisingly not a hard task, but then she'd always been a fairly good actor.

Finally, their mother gave a nod, her eyes softening a bit as they focused on her daughter.

"Go to bed now, Teresa," she told her. "It's getting late."

Normally, the young girl hated bedtime. She could never get to sleep easily, she wanted to go outside and play, not lay around in a bed doing nothing. This time however, she knew just how close she was to getting in a load of trouble with her suddenly ill-tempered mother. That in mind, she gave an obedient nod and rushed for the hallway, sparing only a passing glance at her brother.

By the time she reached her bedroom door, her fear had lessened somewhat, allowing her the courage to creep back the way she came, careful to stay out of view and listen in on her brother receiving a punishment he didn't deserve.

The 'conversation' lasted only a minute, and by the end, Samuel was tasked with washing the dishes and cleaning the floors everyday for the rest of the week (and it was only Tuesday). Teresa felt bad, it really should've been her getting that punishment. True, Samuel had been outside with her, but only because he was watching out for her. That's what he always said, anyway.

She heard heavy footsteps, causing her to spring back a few steps, fearful that her mother was on the way. The person rounded the corner before she could open her door, and Teresa froze in fear. Then she heard a familiar chuckle.

"Eavesdropping, now?" Samuel teased, sauntering over. "That's considered offensive, you know."

"Why did you do that?" No use beating around the bush.

Samuel tilted his head to the side a bit.

"Do what?" He asked.

"You know _what_," Teresa shot back, frustration growing anew. "Why did you take the blame? You were only outside because of me, I should be the one being punished, so why-"

Teresa was interrupted abruptly when Samuel's hand shot up and slapped over her mouth. The girl made a noise of protest, but received no acknowledgement. Samuel glanced over his shoulders, looking and listening for something. It didn't take long for Teresa to figure out just what he was waiting for.

"Okay," he began once he was sure the coast was clear. "First of all, don't talk so loud, or mother will hear you. Second, of course I covered for you. I'm your big brother, it's what I do."

Teresa blinked, then blinked again. By now, Samuel had removed his hand from her mouth, but no sounds came out. Samuel slowly raised an eyebrow at her honestly humorous face, patting her on the head twice, then moving passed her.

"I'll always be here to protect you, Teresa," he called over his shoulder. "Be it from punishment, or thugs, or tiny little spiders."

There was laughter in his voice when he spoke the last part. His door opened and closed just as Teresa processed his words and whirled around, an enraged scowl plastered all over her features.

"I am NOT scared of spiders!" She shouted at the wooden door. 

* * *

"I am not afraid of spiders…"

Teresa had been muttering this to herself for the past twenty minutes as she sat at the edge of her bed and listened to the continuous claps of thunder. This storm was probably the longest they'd had this summer, she imagined everything closed hours ago in preparation. Diogel, despite it's youma-free history, was subject to frequent thunderstorms. It was never a huge problem since the buildings were designed to suit the nasty weather. Rarely did she hear of properties with more than moderate damage following a storm.

It was also true that most people believed storms to be much, _much_ preferable to dealing with than youma, so everyone made due without complaining.

Teresa swung her legs up once, twice, three times. She blew some air out of her mouth, fingering a piece of her long, black hair. She hated nights like this, nights when she was incredibly bored and not at all tired. In order to stay entertained, Teresa needed to be on the move. She'd never been one for sewing or reading or other indoor activities.

Teresa leaning forward so she could see the large clock located just down the hall. It showed 12:20 am. Teresa groaned.

She fell flat on her bed and closed her eyes, willing sleep to come to her, but it never did. She tossed and turned a little while longer before giving up and moving back into a sitting position. Around this time, she heard a creaking sound, one she recognized as the back door opening. She knew immediately who it was walking in, her mind urged her to get in bed now before he came in to check on her, but her body wouldn't move.

She heard her mother address him, admonishing him for staying out back in his workshop during a storm. He responded playfully, which only incensed her further. A small argument followed, ending with him managing to appease Teresa's mother, before bidding her good night and asking her to come to bed soon.

Teresa didn't hear her mothers response as she was preoccupied listening to the approaching footsteps. Her body finally found the strength to move, and she dived for the bed, but it was too late.

Her father stood in the doorway, wearing a smile not unlike that of his oldest child that annoyed the youngest just as much.

"Now, what are you doing up so late?"

Teresa made eye contact with him and kept it.

"Can't sleep," she answered truthfully.

Her father's smile widened as he walked in, his heavy boots hitting the floor hard. Teresa moved up further, crossing her legs as he sat down at the foot of her bed.

"I heard your brother got in some trouble before."

Teresa bit her lip. She always hated when her father got like this, his tone always made her believe he knew they were lying. With parents like this, it was no wonder she and Samuel rarely got away with anything. Tonight must have been a fluke.

"What a responsible younger sister you are," her father continued. "Trying to make Samuel follow the rules, shame he wouldn't listen. Still, it's good to know I have one obedient child."

Oh. He _definitely_ knew.

Teresa wanted badly to look away, his gaze was deeply penetrating. She forced herself not to, that would be the final nail in the coffin. Her father's eyes remained light, however.

"Don't worry, Teresa," he said while patting her on the head (another thing Samuel got from him). "I just hope your brother learns his lesson."

He gave her a knowing look that Teresa understood instantly. She nodded her head.

"Yes, I believe he has," she answered as another clap of thunder sounded.

Her father looked away from her at the window, biting and sucking on his lip for a few seconds.

"Sure is getting bad out there," he muttered, more to himself than Teresa. "No wonder your mother yelled at me like that… but you aren't bothered by it at all, are you, Teresa?"

He noticed her lack of reaction to the thunder, the same she wore every time one of the numerous thunderstorms hit. Even as a baby, she'd slept soundly in the worst of storms, more than her father or mother could say for themselves. They weren't scared either, it was just that the noise kept them up especially late.

Teresa snorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Of course not," she answered smugly. "I'm not afraid of storms, I'm not afraid of anything… _especially not spiders._"

The last part she said in a much lower voice, hoping her father hadn't heard it. In this case, it seemed her luck had run out, as her father chuckled and shook his head.

"Samuel was teasing you about that again, huh?" He stated more than asked.

"I am NOT afraid," Teresa insisted, now finally allowing herself to look away.

He put a comforting hand on her shoulder, one she shrugged off without so much as a second glance. She knew she was being immature, but at the moment, she didn't care. Stupid Samuel making even their father think she was scared of stupid spiders.

"You know," he was saying. "Those spiders are probably more scared of you than you are of them."

Whatever Teresa expected to hear, this wasn't it. She blinked in surprise and turned around before she realized what she was doing.

"Really?" She asked, eyes wide like a small child. "…not that I AM scared of spiders. Because I'm not."

"Alright, alright," he father relented, though his expression spoke differently from his voice. "But let's pretend you _are_ for a minute, why _might_ they scare you?"

Teresa glanced around, her resolve fading at his words. She kept out her tough front even as she searched her mind for an answer.

"Well… if I _was_ scared," she emphasized heavily. "I guess it would be because they're so weird looking, and they walk all weird too."

"Hmmm…" He father brought a finger to his chin, signifying to her that he was either thinking very hard or just pretending to humor her. "Well, that's true. Spiders are really odd looking with their big eyes and eight legs and hairy bodies. And the way they crawl around on all those legs, one after the other. I could see why you'd be scared… if you WERE scared, of course."

He eyed his daughter's shivering form. She'd back up more and more into the bed until she couldn't anymore. The silence snapped her out of it, and she mentally berated herself for letting that happen while outwardly scrambling to regain her calm, tough disposition.

"Yeah, exactly," she couldn't stop the slight stutter in her words.

Her father nodded. "But you know, as weird as you think they are, they probably think you're just as creepy."

"Me?" Teresa indignantly cried.

"Oh yes," her father remained unaffected by her outburst. "They probably think all humans are weird, just like we think they're weird. You may not like all their eyes and legs, they probably find it odd that you only have two legs and two eyes. And what about this stringy stuff coming out of your head. It must freak them out."

He gently took hold of a lock of her hair as he spoke. Teresa giggled and pulled away a second later, a smile appearing in place of her diminishing anger.

"Yeah, well they probably think your mustache is weird!" She declared loudly.

Her father put on a look of mock offence.

"How dare you," he said in an over the top way. "My mustache is very distinguished and attractive."

"Don't tell me," she answered with a shrug. "Tell the spiders."

There was a pause, father and daughter staring intently at each other. It broke when Teresa's father let out a hearty laugh, Teresa herself following suit. They continued laughing for longer than they knew even as the storm raged on out the window. Upon calming down, her father motioned for Teresa to get in bed, and she did so without complaint. He tucked her in, even though she'd many times insisted she was too old for the practice.

"Alright, get some sleep," he told her. "This storm should blow over by the morning. Then you and Samuel and I can go fishing, how's that sound?"

Teresa nodded, fishing was one of her favorite things to do on nice summer days. It was also fun to bring Samuel along since she was a much better fishermen than he was. Her father kissed her on the forehead, which Teresa scowled at, even though she secretly didn't mind. The coarse hairs of his mustache brushed against her head as he pulled away. Issuing a quiet goodnight, her father walked as softly as he could in those boots to the door, slowly closing it behind him.

Teresa closed her eyes, even though she still didn't feel tired. The thunder had finally stopped, all she could hear now was the light pitter-pattering of raindrops against her window. Admittedly, it was a peaceful sound, and Teresa listened to it as her eyelids began to feel heavy… 

* * *

Teresa awoke slowly. The sunlight shined in her face, making her squint. She rolled over with a moan, mentally noting to ask her mom about getting some curtains. She remained in bed for a while longer, just how long, she didn't know. Eventually, she decided it was time to get up for real and opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw was a spider on the wall right across from her.

Teresa froze. The spider remained equally unmoving, but she had no idea if it had noticed her or not. Fear rose in the pit of her stomach, she couldn't deny that's what it was no matter how much she wanted to. Her breathing remained slow, she wouldn't allow herself any outward signs of how she was feeling.

She closed her eyes and opened them again, it was still there. It's round body on those eight long legs bent in that creepy shape.

_"They probably think you're just as creepy."_

"Eh?" Teresa started when that memory hit her. Her father's words were still fresh in her mind. That just led to more thoughts coming to her. What if he was right? Maybe the spider really was scared of her too…

This lead to two reactions, the first was anger at having actually admitted it, even if it was just to herself. The second was a wave of courage that washed over her completely, drowning out the first reaction. Teresa ripped her covers off and slid out of bed. She slowly planted her feet on the ground, careful not to make even the slightest noise. All that could be heard was the soft wind blowing at her window.

Teresa brushed some stray black hair out of her face, as she was prone to do when deep in concentration. She took a tentative step forward. Then another.

_'I am not afraid of spiders,'_ she chanted to herself. _'I am NOT afraid of spiders.'_

The distance between her bed and the wall grew substantially. Whether that was in her mind or not, she couldn't tell. She walked closer and closer, nothing would stop her now, not even the intense desire to run that was causing sweat to pour down her cheeks.

_'I am NOT afraid of spiders, I am NOT afraid of spiders.'_

She stopped right in front of it. Now up close, she could see the small creature's many eyes staring up at her. Her fingers clenched, it took all her willpower to make them relax as she reached her hand out and let it hover just above the spider. She had to grab her arm with her free hand to stop the shaking.

The spider made no move at first, milliseconds passed agonizingly slow. The next thing she knew, the creature's leg attached to her finger, the other seven following. Teresa gasped and clamped her eyes shut, but she could still feel the spider crawling up her fingers and onto her palm. She audibly whimpered, thankful no one was around to see her like this. She took a deep breath to calm herself, and opened her eyes. The spider scuttled along her hand, never stopping once. Teresa watched intently, moving her hand along with it. Her insides were still shaking, but the rest of her was still, as she realized that it wasn't hurting her. In fact, it's legs kind of tickled.

Swallowing her fear, Teresa brought her hand up to her face, giving her the closest look at a spider she'd ever had. Though it's eyes were still huge and it's legs still long, suddenly, it wasn't quite as scary as she'd once thought. Unconsciously, a smile formed on Teresa's face.

Wait until she told her father. 

* * *

Samuel groaned as he woke up. He never liked early mornings, especially not when he had to wake up to them. The young preteen sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes before opening them.

He was met with the sight of a huge spider being shoved into his face.

"AAAAAAAARGH!"

Samuel flew several feet in the air, landing unceremoniously on the wooden floorboards next to his bed. The boy clutched his chest, feeling his heart racing a mile a minute. A girlish laugh broke him from his thoughts and made him look up again. This time, he found the dark brown eyes of his younger sister, full of a smug sense of accomplishment, just like the smile she wore.

Teresa held up a hand, revealing the spider still sitting calmly on the tip of her finger.

"Told you I wasn't scared."

Samuel's mouth hung open, not a single sound came out. Teresa laughed again as she walk to the open window beside him and presumably freed the spider. By this time, Samuel had come out of his stupor, and met his sister with a deranged grin.

"You are gonna pay for that," he declared.

If he was trying to scare her, it didn't work. Teresa just gave him a ghost of a smile, then took off out the door. Her brother followed close behind.

"Get back here!" He shouted.

The siblings ran down the hall and though the kitchen. Teresa had no plans to stop, the front door was just in view and she knew a million places to hide from Samuel out there. Something out the corner of her eye stopped her, however.

Samuel caught up right then, momentarily berating her until he noticed what, or rather who, she was staring at. Their parent sat beside each other on the living room couch. Their father held their mother in his arms, and the latter's face was bright red from crying. They could just see the stains of her tears in their father's white shirt and their mother's hands peculiarly placed on her stomach.

The sight made no sense to either of them. As long as they'd known her, their mother never cried. Only when her own mother died several years ago did she shed even a single tear. She was always calm and cheerful. Even when angry with them, she rarely showed it on her face. This and her behavior last night through them for a loop. What on earth was wrong with her?

"Children," their father's voice was cracking, another thing that never ever happened. "Sit down, we- we have something very important to tell you." 

* * *

The next two days went by fast, so fast Teresa could barely keep up. After her parents made their announcement and explained what it would mean for the family, she'd gone into a state of shock.

Those people.

Those people that had been thrown out of town, all because of a stupid over-population law.

They were about to join those people.

In truth, they should have been out the very next day, but Teresa's father had gone with some friends to argue their case to the town officials. They reminded them that Teresa's mother was the town midwife, no one else had the skills she did. Not to mention her father's carpentry business. True, he wasn't the only one in Diogel, but it was widely agreed that he was one of the best.

None of that mattered in the end. The officials would make no exceptions to their law. Teresa and her family were out on the street the very next day. They would travel in the cart her father used to carry wood and supplies. A makeshift bed had been placed inside for her mother to rest in. All they had with them were a satchel each, containing food and a change of clothes. Her father also carried a large bag filled with all their savings. They had no idea where they were going, even if Teresa's father assured them they would be fine, both Teresa and Samuel knew the truth.

Their friends and neighbors saw them off, some with tears, some with false reassurances. All of them were clearly sad and scared for them, but Teresa couldn't help but wonder, as she was hugged for the umpteenth time by one of her parent's friends, if there wasn't an underlying of relief in their words and faces. Relief that it wasn't _them_ being thrown into the wild.

They reached the city limits, the voices of friends fading fast. Teresa didn't bother to take a last look at the town she'd called home her whole life. Already, it was starting to feel less and less so.

Teresa walked alongside the cart, every now and then taking glances at her sleeping mother. Her hand even in sleep remained on her stomach, where the cause of all this grew inside, waiting to come out into the world.

She felt a surge of anger towards her soon-to-be younger sibling, the first of many.

* * *

**A/N: I said it would be different, didn't I? :D**

**As you can probably guess, this is the first of a 'Flashback' arc similar to the one in the manga. The main difference is obvious: it's Teresa's backstory this time.**

**All we really know about her life before she was a Claymore is that she had dark hair eyes and that she was sold to the Organization by 'people she trusted.' Not really much there, but just enough for me to work off of.**

**There will be two more Origins chapters before we get back to the main story. This may seem like a cop out to some, but it is necessary otherwise certain things that happen later in the story won't make any sense.**

**Also, I'd just like to address this now because I know at least one person is going to bring it up in the comments: yes, Teresa's mother could have just had an abortion. A lot of families did just that which is why only a few got thrown out. There is a reason why she chose not to do it. Several, actually. That's for the next chapter so don't think to much on it yet.**

**Wow, this was a long author's note...**


	9. Origins 02: Family

The town of Vereor. Spanning a few hundred square feet, it was easily one of the smallest towns for miles around. In addition, it happened to be one of the least populated. It was like a quiet tea party in comparison to the uproarious party that was Diogel. At least, that was Teresa's view of it.

Of course, being a young girl uprooted from the town she'd spent her whole life in with little to no warning, it would be no surprise to anyone that for the first couple of days, she could to nothing but sit on the rickety old porch of their new 'home' nitpicking every little thing about her new town.

_'It smells like cows. Diogel never smelled this bad.'_

_'These trees are so flimsy, not like the big climbing ones in Diogel.'_

_'This marketplace is a mess. Why can't they keep things organized like they did in Diogel?'_

One day, two months after their arrival, the ten year old was walking home, a bag of groceries in one hand and a stick she'd found along the way in the other. Teresa dragged it along, drawing a line in the soft dirt for no real purpose other than to barely alleviate her sadness and boredom. The large house they now inhabited loomed overhead, it was probably the biggest building in Vereor besides the surprisingly well cared for church.

After traveling for one long, tiresome week in which they just about ran out of food and water (her mother needed extra due to her condition), they'd finally reached Vereor, and it was a Godsend for all of 1 half hour. Once she'd gotten some food and water in her, Teresa very quickly realized what a dreary, sad little town Vereor really was. The tip off was probably when she was almost run out of the inn lobby by the manager for wearing a dress that showed her ankles. Needless to say, she couldn't wait for her father to finish buying new supplies and replacing the beat up wheels of their cart so they could move on already.

However, her father had returned to their room clutching a rolled up parchment in his hand. He wore a smile, one that barely reached his cheeks and did little to hide the downtrodden look in his eyes.

No matter how many times her parents scolded her, told her how fortunate they were to find a new place to live so quickly and what a selfish, immature child she was being, she refused to accept Vereor as her home. They could yell until their faces turned blue, she would never budge.

Teresa sighed heavily, a common occurrence as of late. She hated when it was her turn to do the shopping, mostly because she couldn't stand the townspeople. If they weren't crotchety old bags screaming about oranges being priced too high and waving their canes around like swords, they were rude younger people, shoving her out of the way as they passed and not even bothering to apologize. This would never have happened in Diogel. Everyone there knew and cared about each other.

House after house passed through Teresa's peripheral vision as she came closer and closer to her unfortunate destination. Her eyes were on her shoes, as if not facing the truth of the situation would make it disappear somehow.

She had a lovely view of the dirty brown wood that made up the doorstep. An unpleasant squeak reverberated the moment she put her foot down. Teresa winced, she couldn't stand that awful sound. She tried to step as softly as possible while crossing the porch to the door, but no matter what, her ears were still assaulted by that squeak, making her want to drop to the ground and scream.

She hated it here, she wanted to go home.

"Teresa, is that you?" Her mother called out as the young girl passed through the rickety door.

"Yes mother," she responded, masking her negative feelings with relative ease. "I have the groceries."

"Oh good," Teresa's mother had obvious relief in her voice. "Can you bring me some of the carrots I asked for? I'm absolutely famished."

Teresa bit her lip. Her mother never liked carrots, not before the _baby _happened. That's what it was to her. Be it a boy or a girl, Teresa didn't care. The feelings of anger boiling inside her grew with the _baby_. Every day that went by, every time she saw her mother smile and rub her hand up and down her stomach, every time she heard her parents up late discussing names, her anger would only increase. She couldn't deny it, nor would she.

She hated this baby.

"Teresa?"

The dark haired girl started, realizing she'd been ignoring her mother's request.

"Yes, sorry," she answered hurriedly.

Teresa walked quickly into the kitchen, which luckily wasn't anywhere near the sitting room, meaning her mother had no chance of seeing the deep scowl on her face as she gathered several carrots from the enormous pile she'd been made to buy.

That accomplished, she headed out the other exit into the long hallway. The sitting room was at the very end, but Teresa made it in no time at all. She was met with the sight of her mother laying down on the couch… rubbing her stomach. Teresa's fist clenched, but she forced herself to smile and remain calm.

"Here you go," her voice was softer than it probably should've been, but her mother didn't seem to notice.

The woman's face broke out in a grin as she took the vegetables and ate one in two bites. Teresa looked away, but then back again when her eyes accidentally hit her mother's ever growing stomach.

"So good," her mother sighed happily, grabbing a second one. "I love the marketplace here, their produce is always so fresh. It must be the weather, much more calm than Diogel. I don't think I could've stood another thunderstorm."

Her mother laughed as if she'd just told a hilarious joke. Teresa, meanwhile, was putting all her willpower to use so she wouldn't snap and tell her mother exactly what she thought of this _lovely_ little town. All she allowed to escape her lips was a sigh, one her mother hopefully hadn't heard.

"Sweetheart, is something wrong?"

She inwardly groaned. Apparently not.

"I'm fine," Teresa answered quickly.

This didn't satisfy her mother, not in the least. If anything, it made her more suspicious that her daughter wasn't particularly happy. Teresa maintained eye contact with her mother, fighting the desire to look away with all she had.

"I'm fine," she said again, slower and more naturally, she hoped.

"Are you sure?" Her mother responded. "I won't lie, Teresa, your behavior lately has been bothering me."

Teresa sucked the inside of her mouth.

"Has it?" She asked with feigned confusion. "However do you mean?"

The look her mother gave her was enough to send chills down her spine. It wasn't that she looked angry or annoyed. It's just that the much older woman's face clearly spoke loud enough. _'How do you _think_?' _It was saying.

"You've been much quieter," her mother began. "You spend a lot of time outside doing nothing, and I hear you muttering to yourself sometimes. Mostly about the baby."

If her mother wanted to say anything else, she didn't. Teresa's resolve had broken, and she shook with rage a little more every word her mother spoke. She knew. Of course she knew. Her mother always knew.

"Teresa," her mother held out a hand, whether to comfort her or scold her, Teresa didn't know. "I've been wanting to ask. Are you… angry about anything?"

She got no answer, Teresa wasn't even looking at her anymore. And so she went on, speaking a simple three word question that she probably shouldn't have.

"Like the baby?"

That did it.

Teresa turned on a heel, storming out of the room without a single word of farewell. Her mother called after her, but she didn't care. She didn't care if her mother thought she was being selfish and immature nor did it bother her she her mother must be horribly upset by all this (those stupid hormones of hers). It was her fault anyway for getting pregnant in the first place. Teresa was doing nothing wrong, it was her mother and father that were wrong.

She told herself this again and again as she half-walked, half-ran back out the front door. Maybe if her mind repeated it enough times, she'd actually start to believe it was true.

* * *

Teresa didn't know where she was going. Small as this town was, she barely knew it. It didn't matter to her if she got lost, better than going back to that house with that _baby_. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she did nothing to stop them. Her legs moved forward almost of their own accord. She passed houses and buildings and the market place, ignored by all and oblivious to the world around her.

It took a few cackling laughs and an indignant female voice to break her out of it.

Teresa turned a corner at one point, and immediately ran back behind a building when she saw them. A group of boys she'd often seen causing trouble around town. Her and Samuel had made a silent pact to avoid them at all costs, no matter how much Teresa wanted to pummel every last one of them during their first encounter, when the boys made some rather inappropriate remarks about their mother when both she and their father were out of earshot.

Now, it seemed, they'd taken to targeting another girl. With her back turned, Teresa couldn't see her face, only the mousy brown hair falling just above her slim shoulder blades. One hand held a basket, the contents of which was covered by a gray blanket, and appeared to be what the gang was after if the line of conversation Teresa picked up on indicated anything.

"… the big deal, anyway? We just want a peek is all."

"Yeah, Daph," Chimed in another, much larger boy. "Haven't you ever heard of sharing?"

The girl took a step back, but dared not go any further.

"Look, I don't have time for this," she told them firmly. "This isn't for any of you. It's just medicine for my grandmother, trust me, it won't taste any good."

"How do you know?" The first one sneered. "We have a wide array of tastes after all."

The three other thugs snickered and nodded, the ones Teresa could see clearly both wore wide toothed grins that spoke of nothing but trouble. Meanwhile, the girl remained still.

"Hmmm…" she was saying. "Maybe, but I've taken this medicine myself when I was sick, and as much as you guys may like to eat, I don't think boiled spinach juice is all that appetizing."

Several of them visibly cringed, as did Teresa. Despite this, the girl didn't get the full reaction she'd been hoping for.

"That doesn't matter," the first one (he must've been the leader) shouted in exasperation. "What's important is that you learn your place, Daphne. If we tell you to hand it over, you hand it over or else pay the consequences."

As he spoke, the leader reached for his pocket while Daphne's free hand clenched into a fist. The four man surrounded her now, she had no room to run. Teresa's body tensed, she had to do something. She'd finally recognized the girl as Daphne, the one nice person she'd met in this stupid town. They didn't know each other very well, Samuel was more friendly with her, but she still didn't deserve to be bullied. Even so, those men were twice her size and ten times stronger than her. She'd have no chance, but someone had to help before-

"Hey!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing. Teresa leaned more out from behind the wall to get a good look at whoever had just arrived. In truth, she already had an idea, that voice she could recognize any day. Indeed, she spotted him, standing tall and wearing a threatening scowl.

"Samuel…" Teresa whispered, watching as her older brother fearlessly walked to the gang, all of whom were taller and probably stronger than him.

"Didn't you hear her?" The young teenager snapped. "Her grandmother is sick. You don't even need that stuff, so why not just let her go?"

The leader glanced at his friends as all four of them smirked at each other. He moved away from the group and approached Samuel, getting close enough so that the height difference was extremely noticeable.

"Beat it, new kid," he ordered Samuel. "This doesn't concern you."

"Daphne's my friend," Samuel countered. "If she's being threatened, of course it concerns me."

"Samuel," this was Daphne. "Just go, I'll be alright."

"Yeah, Samuel," the leader said just as Samuel opened his mouth to argue. "Go on home, and say hi to your mother for me."

Whether he knew the reaction he'd get out of this or not, no one would ever know. All semblance of composure vanished in Samuel the moment he heard those words. With an enraged roar, he bodily threw himself at the taller man. This achieved nothing aside from making the leader stumble back a bit. He grabbed Samuel by the sides and threw him hard onto the ground, making the younger boy cry out in pain.

"Alright, you little bastard," the leader seethed while his lackeys cheered him on. "You want to play rough? Fine by me."

"Let him go," Daphne cried. She was unable to do much else with two of the thugs holding her back.

"Shut up," the leader shouted back.

All the while, Samuel struggled to break free, but the larger teen's grip on him was too tight.

Teresa grit her teeth, anger pulsing within her as she cursed her weak body to the heavens. There was nothing she could do, she knew that now. If Samuel couldn't stop them, she certainly couldn't. She could only watch in impotent rage as the rotten thug beat up her brother, his eyes covered by a head of filthy blond hair. Blonde hair that was so light, it was almost white.

White like the targets they drew in Diogel.

Teresa's eyes widened. She glanced around, searching and finding a rock just right for this situation. She didn't think after this, she did nothing but grab the rock and run. She ran straight at the fray, no one noticed until she was close enough. Just as the thugs shouted for their leader, Teresa reared her arm back and lobbed the rock at his head. It was just like target practice, she told herself. It would work. It would work.

And work it did.

The rock slammed into the leaders head, hard enough to make him scream and clutch his head. Samuel wasted no time in scrambling to his feet, his eyes boring into Teresa.

"Get out of here," he ordered her.

"No!" Teresa fired back.

She turned her fiery gaze back to the still recovering gang leader.

"There's more where that came from if you _ever_ try and hurt my brother again!"

The gang leader gawked at her, his mouth wide open in what should have been a very funny expression. His eyes soon darkened, and low growl emitted from his throat.

"You little-"

"Hey, what's going on over here?"

Teresa whirled around, and wasn't sure if she should be happy or afraid to see her father fast approaching. The gang leader had no such mental debate, he immediately quieted, springing to his feet and motioning at his gang.

"Come on," he cried. "Let's get out of here."

The other three needed no more prompting as they threw Daphne to the side and sped off into an alley with their leader. Teresa exhaled slowly, relief washing through her… at least until she looked back at her father and found him staring down at her with obvious anger. Their eyes remained locked for a few more seconds, during which time apprehension grew fast within Teresa.

"Samuel," her father called out after looking away. "Are you alright?"

The boy was on his feet, and had been talking to Daphne all this time. The girl was clearly shaken, but grateful for his and Teresa's help, that much was certain.

"I'm fine, dad," the boy answered. "I'm going to walk Daphne home, is that okay?"

The man smiled and nodded.

"That's fine son," he looked back at Teresa, his smile instantly vanishing, replaced by a deeply set in frown as he spoke in a tone too low for Samuel to hear, but just loud enough for Teresa. "I need to have a talk with your sister anyway."

Teresa gulped.

* * *

In spite of his claim, the initial walk was spent in absolute silence. Teresa had never been more reminded of how much worse that always was than actual yelling. All the more worse was that she had no idea why he was so angry with her. The only explanation she'd come up with, she threw out almost instantly. It couldn't be that because she was right and they were wrong. Simple as that.

Of course, right now all that meant was she'd have to wait to find out what was really the problem, and that was becoming unbearable. She couldn't even look at him, and winced every time she heard a stray noise, afraid that it was her father about to speak.

Then he coughed. Teresa felt her heart racing.

"So…"

Only one word, and already Teresa felt like apologizing.

"I was talking to your mother…"

Her stomach dropped. Oh no, he couldn't mean-

"She's very upset right now. She was crying and everything."

At this, her father stopped walking, and stood himself in front of his daughter, making her stop as well. Teresa refused to look at him, her teeth were bared as she burned holes in the dirt with her eyes.

"Teresa," her father's voice took on a warning edge. "Look at me."

She shut her eyes on instinct. She didn't want to take any chances of him seeing the hateful look in them.

"Teresa, do as I say."

She shook her head violently. "No…"

"Teresa!"

"No!"

The girl took off in a sprint, running blindly from her father and his accusations. She didn't want to hear it, none of it. She was right. They were wrong. Nothing could change that. Nothing could-

"Stop!"

Teresa yelped as she was pulled back. She shut her eyes again, this time to keep back her tears. She should've known he'd catch her. She could never get away with anything after all.

"Teresa," His voice was different now. Softer even. Still, she dared not respond. "Teresa, please look at me."

She opened her eyes, but no tears fell. Teresa took a deep, shaky breath and turned around. Her eyes found his immediately. Her father nodded his head.

"Good," he muttered. "Now why don't you tell me what's bothering you."

Maybe it was his tone. If not, then perhaps his expression made her do it. Or maybe it was simply because she'd always felt the closest to her father out of any of her family members. Whatever the reason, everything came spilling out of her right in that moment.

"I hate it here!" She screamed, louder than she'd intended. "I hate this town, I want to go home. Why couldn't they have just let us stay? It's not fair. Mother should've gotten rid of that stupid baby. I hate it too, I hate it most of all!"

Teresa drew in breath after breath when she finished her tirade. She knew any minute now, her father would begin yelling, calling her a selfish brat and banning her to her room for all time, or until she learned some manners.

It never came.

To Teresa's immense shock, her father did not yell or scream. He didn't even look mad aside from his frown, and even that was more thoughtful than angry. She had no idea what it meant, and wished she could just read her father's mind and know what he was thinking.

"Teresa…" Just how many times would he say her name like that? "I know you're upset. Believe me, you aren't the only one."

Again, she looked away, snorting softly. It sure didn't seem like it.

"Doesn't it?"

Teresa jumped, realizing that she'd actually spoken that last thought of hers aloud, and that it's impact on her father was quite noticeable. Teresa's mouth remained open, but nothing else came out of it. Her farther just nodded solemnly.

"I haven't told you or your brother this," he started. "But the truth is, your mother and I have never liked Vereor one bit. It's far too dull and the locals aren't particularly friendly, but you already knew that."

He chuckled at this, and a smile found it's way across his features.

"I guess we were better at hiding it than we thought, if it really surprises you so much."

"But then why?" Teresa managed to find her voice again in that instant. "Why are we even here? We should leave!"

"And we will," Her father responded in the same excited tone. "As soon as your mother has the baby."

Teresa's excitement faded in an instant and the frown she'd gotten so used to returned.

"That's the whole reason we stayed here in the first place," Her father went on, catching her attention again (though she refused to let him see that). "Your mother wanted to move on, but I could see the strain of constant travel wouldn't be good for her or the child. It took awhile but I managed to convince her, it probably helped that she already knew it was the right thing to do, whether or not she admitted it.

"Our plan is to wait out the pregnancy, give it a month or two more afterwards so she can gain her strength back, then leave for Reprospes out east. It's the town your mother grew up in, and we believe her sister still lives there. Even if she doesn't, it's a wonderful place to live. I remember it before we moved, it was so peaceful and calm. The people were friendly too."

He continued his speech, detailing stories of the short time he lived in this town Reprospes with her mother. He laughed heartily and smiled easily, but Teresa could only feel sadness in her heart, that and another emotion she was having some trouble placing.

Her father stopped to let out a sigh, then he gently pulled Teresa to him, smile still in place.

"I think you'll like it there very much, Teresa."

Once again, Teresa was at a loss for words. What could she say? What did he want to hear? What…?

"Then why…" she started to stammer, unable to phrase her question properly. "Why is she so happy?"

The smile faded a bit, but maybe that was only because it had lost it's goodwill. Now it was just sad.

"Why?" He repeated. "To try and make you feel better, I think."

Teresa's eyes widened. Somewhere in that statement had been the clue she needed to figure out this other emotion she had been feeling.

Guilt.

She was guilty. She was so guilty she could hardly bare it. Her mother's smile, her cheery façade, all because she wanted her daughter to feel better and not be so angry. Why didn't she see it? What kind of terrible person was she?

Tears came rushing to Teresa's eyes and spilled out before she could stop them, and so she didn't try. Her arms found their way around her father's waist and she buried her tearful face into his thick coat, loud sobs muffled in the fur.

"I'm sorry," Teresa choked out while he gently rub her back. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry."

"That's good," her father answered after a moment's pause. "But I'm not the one you should be telling this to."

* * *

Teresa stood in the doorway beside her father. Her sweaty hand grasped his urgently until he pulled it away, using his now free hand to lightly push her into the room. Teresa almost couldn't look up. Her mother was sitting before her.

The older woman's face was dry, but red from her tears, making Teresa feel that much worse. That ever present smile had finally left her face, and Teresa desperately wished for it to return. It was all her fault that it was gone.

Her mouth opened, falling all the way down and keeping silent. 'I'm sorry.' It was so simple, just two little words. So simple, and yet not. Teresa couldn't say it, no matter how much she wanted to. Be it her intense guilt and self-loathing , or that ever present part of her that continued to scream in her ear that she was right, her mother was wrong.

She pushed that voice into the farthest reaches of her mind, and did the only thing she could do without speaking. Tears shined anew in the eyes of both females as Teresa bound for her mother and collapsed in her waiting arms. They cried together while father and husband looked on, unsure if he should stay or go.

Teresa said nothing, only kept crying. That would be enough, it had to be. Her mother had to see the meaning behind her tears, she could always see through her children after all. She had to know that Teresa was sorry and that she didn't hate her and wouldn't hate this town anymore. The black haired child gripped her mother's back as best she could, unable to get her arms all the way across thanks to the older woman's ever growing stomach.

Teresa's eyes opened, tears still spilled although her mind was going elsewhere. Had she been this big yesterday?

No, she hadn't. Her mother was growing. The child was growing.

The spark of Teresa's anger reignited in that moment, making her scowl and grit her teeth. She would never hate her mother and she would try to like this town for her sake.

But Teresa would never love this baby. Not even a little.

* * *

Months passed. Teresa and Samuel spent their days playing with Daphne and the one or two other bearable kids in Vereor. Both of those kids were five years old, so mostly it was restricted to hide and seek or staring at the clouds, both of which got old fast.

Teresa began helping out the local laundress, washing clothes and bed sheets for a few coins per week. The laundress was a mean old lady with three teeth missing and horrible breath.

Occasionally, she'd see that gang, either watching her or picking on some other innocent folk. Whenever it was the former, the leader would glare hatefully at her and rub the back of his head while the others looked on threatingly.

All of it, Teresa took in stride, a smile on her face even when she wanted to rip her hair out and scream. She would keep it up until her mother was better and they could leave this awful town once and for all.

Teresa could honestly say she was looking forward to living in Reprospes. Anything was better than Vereor, after all. She knew little about it, besides what her parents told her (warm climate, lots of people, events held every year) but she wouldn't let that keep her from being happy. Her mother was coming closer and closer to her due date, it wouldn't be long now.

As for the baby, Teresa still didn't care for it, but her hatred was beginning to die down a bit, replaced by mere indifference. Who knows, maybe if Reprospes was as good as she sincerely hoped it would be, she might one day start to like the baby a little.

Might.

Teresa came home one night, drenched from the rain and holding her weekly pay in a tightly closed hand. She'd been lucky enough not to run into that gang (there'd been a few close calls) which was enough to keep her from being in a completely sour mood. She shrugged off her sopping coat, hanging it on the rack as she went to remove her shoes.

She could just hear the sounds of her mother's footsteps and smiled a bit. This far into her pregnancy, and she still refused to miss a night of cooking for her family. Teresa was taking in the scent of the slowly roasting chicken her father had bought the day before, when she heard her mother gasp followed by a thump and a clatter.

Teresa's heart rate shot up exponentially. Her feet moved of her own accord, and her voice went to work before she even realized what she was saying.

"Mother, are you alright?"

The only answer was heavy panting. By now, Teresa had raced down the hallway and into the kitchen. She beheld the sight of her mother on her hands and knees, breathing incredibly hard. She was about to frantically demand her mother tell her what had happened, until she noticed a telltale puddle beneath her legs.

Oh.

Oh no.

"Mother," Teresa ran to her mother's side and got on her knees, lightly but firmly grabbing her shoulder. "Mother, talk to me!"

"Too… soon…" The woman gasped. "It's… too soon. It's not time yet."

"Mother!" Teresa yelled a third time. "We need to get you to the couch, can you walk?"

Her mother gave a weak nod, breathing out something Teresa couldn't decipher as they carefully eased her into a standing position.

It took some effort, but they managed to get her into the living room and onto the couch. Teresa ran to get a blanket and pillow, her mind working on overdrive trying to get it all done and make her mother as comfortable as possible.

"Where's… your father?" Her mother panted while Teresa threw the blanket over her. "He should be… back by now… with Samuel."

"They'll be here," Teresa assured her in as calm a voice as she could manage. "I bet they're on their way back now. Don't worry."

Five minutes passed, then ten, then twenty.

Half an hour later, Teresa was still alone with her screaming mother. Her fingers were numb from all the times her mother grabbed them during a contraction. The young girl's resolve was rapidly cracking every time her mother let out another shriek of pain.

"Where… are… they?" She demanded for the umpteenth time.

Teresa bit her lip, stifling a cry as she ripped her hand out of her mothers and bolted to the front door, ignoring her mother's calls. When she stood outside, Teresa ran off the porch and cupped her hands over her mouth.

"FAAAATHEEEEER!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. "SAAAAAMUEEEEEEL!"

A cat screeched and some neighbors shouted at her to shut up. Father and Samuel were nowhere to be found. Teresa called out twice more, receiving several jeers and absolutely no help. This stupid, selfish town. Lest she begin to openly weep, Teresa ran back inside, falling to her knees in front of her mother.

"I'm sorry," she cried, her chest heaving. "I don't know where they are."

Her mother made a face, she clearly wasn't happy about this. Even so, she seemed to force a calm to wash over her.

"It's okay," her quivering voice stated. "I just… I'm so sorry, Teresa. If they don't come back, you'll- AARRGH!"

Teresa let out a scream of her own and waited with bated breath for the contraction to pass and to hear the rest of her mother's sentence.

"Teresa," the older woman gasped out. "You're going to have to deliver the baby yourself."

Everything froze. Teresa's hands dropped to her sides and memories flooded her mind. She'd witness her mother's work firsthand one year ago. Her mother's apprentice had quit, leaving the woman with no one to help her for the time being. Teresa, the good daughter she was, stepped up to assist her mother, not expecting to actually be there when someone gave birth.

Her very first day, she'd come with her mother to visit a seven and a half month along woman who suddenly went into labor during her examination. Two hours later, her mother was instructing her on how to clean the screaming male infant in her arms.

Come to think about it, this was a lot like that time, except now Teresa would be doing all the work.

"Don't be scared," her mother's voice snapped her back to reality. "I'll walk you through it. I'm sure you'll do just fi- oh here comes another!"

They rode out the pain (both her mother's labor pains and Teresa's hand) together, after which Teresa was instructed to get more hot water. Unable to say anything, the girl obeyed without hesitation or argument.

The next ten minutes were spent following her mothers orders in between contractions. Teresa got everything ready, then went to spread her mother's legs apart, and was met with a sight she immediately decided she never wanted to see again. Ever.

"How… how far do you think?" Her mother breathed. "I need to be ten centimeters."

"I don't know," Teresa shook her head frantically. "I just- I don't know."

"Relax," her mother's voice took on a commanding tone. "Take a deep breath. We can't have you losing your head here. If you can't tell, as least time how far apart my contractions are. Can you do that?"

The young girl wordlessly nodded and closed her eyes. She counted the time between the next two contractions, her heart sinking fast.

"T-ten seconds," she spoke in a soft, terror-filled voice.

A sound, somewhere between a cry and a whimper, resonated. Her mother breathed deeply, her face turning red from the strain.

"Alright," her voice went low. "We can does this. I've done this before. It'll be fine. It'll be- AAAAARGH!"

Another, more high pitched scream mixed with hers. Teresa fell onto her behind, scrambling back up immediately and retaking the position her mother had told her to.

"OH GOD!" Her mother screamed. "OH MY GOD! IT- AARGH! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY!"

"What?" The girl fell into a slight daze. "What- what are you talking about?"

"It's my fault!" Her mother sobbed. "Everything. It's because of me. We never should have left, I should have aborted. I should have- I'm so sorry, Teresa."

"Mother…" She couldn't say anything else.

"I love you so much, I love all children. That's why- that's why I became a midwife. But because I was the only one around, they didn't just come to me for the birthing, they came… they came when they didn't want it."

Her mother chocked back another sob and went on.

"I know that it was my job, and sometimes it really was in the mother's best interest to not have the child, but I could hardly bear it. I felt like I'd killed them. I killed those innocent children! That's why I- I couldn't kill this child, it's my child just as much as you and Samuel are. And now here we are, in this Godawful town. All because I was so selfish. I'm sorry, Teresa. Please- AAAH! Please forgive me!"

By now, tears were flowing down Teresa's face. How often had that been happening lately? She'd never cried this much before. Now here she was, crying her eyes, about to deliver the baby. Her mother's baby. Her… sibling?

In all the chaos, she'd completely forgotten that the cause of their trouble and the subject of her hate and disdain was about to come into the world. She'd be able to see it with her eyes, hear it with her ears. What would it look like? What would it sound like? Why did she care so much?

She no longer knew what to feel. Anger, hate, terror. All she knew her mother was in pain, apologizing for everything.

"Mother, don't," Teresa voice was firm, surprising even her. "Don't think like that. You're the greatest mother in the world. It's not wrong to love someone so much, that you'd give up your happiness for them, is it?"

Her mother stared blankly at her, a smile slowly but surely creeping by her lips.

"You're very smart, Teresa."

This was immediately followed by another scream. This time, Teresa could see a very noticeable shape between her mothers legs. Her stomach dropped back down. This was it.

"It's coming!" She cried out, eyes wide enough for them to pop out. "Mother, the baby's coming!"

"I know," was the response. "I feel it, I have to start pushing now. Get ready."

Teresa's whole body shook and she wanted nothing more than to run away.

"I can't do thi-"

"Yes you can!" Her mother shouted, lifting herself just enough to see her daughter's terrified face. "Don't look at me like that, you need to be calm."

Teresa shook her head silently.

"Come on, Teresa," her mother urged. "It's going to be okay. You're about to be part of a miracle. So do me a favor and smile. You have the most beautiful smile, you know that? I- I want to see you wear it always."

"M-mother-"

"Don't be scared. Just smile."

"I can't…"

"Smile… just keep smiling…"

"MOTHER!"

Screams permeated the room.

* * *

The door burst open, revealing Samuel and the family patriarch, out of breath and frantic.

"The neighbors-" Samuel panted. "They said they heard screaming."

"Teresa," her father spoke up. "Dear, what-"

Both males hushed as Teresa turned to face them, a bundle of blankets held in her stiff arms.

No, not blankets.

Her father moved like a zombie, missing the warm smile his exhausted wife sent his way. His eyes were on his second child, who held his slumbering third child uneasily out to him.

"It's a girl," Teresa said in a hollow voice.

Her father didn't notice this as he took the infant and held her gently to him, staring down at her while his other children and wife watched with anticipation. His eyes then moved to Teresa, shock evident.

"How…"

He trailed off, but the meaning was obvious, at least to Teresa's mother.

"Teresa," she explained to him. "She did a wonderful job."

As her mother spoke, her father kept his eyes on her, and they went from confusion and shock to pride and joy in an instant. Teresa imagined her father would have hugged her were his hands free. Her mind was too conflicted to care all that much though. She heard Samuel step forward, a light laugh emitting from his throat.

"So, does she have a name yet?"

Teresa looked up from the ground, just in time to see her parent give each other happy and loving smiles, the slumbering baby in between them.

Teresa's fist clenched.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, part 2 of Origins is done. **

**This part was originally going to be a lot darker, but I decided to tone it down a bit. Mostly due to the next chapter, where... well, you'll see.**

**Next will be the final chapter of the Origins arc. Keep an eye out for it! :)**


	10. Origins 03: Trust

**THREE MONTHS LATER**

Teresa ignored the grains of sand and dirt prickling her bare knees as she kneeled below the glass window. Her head was just high enough that her eyes were visible, giving her a perfect view of Samuel and Daphne. Teresa giggled, she'd had a feeling for some time now that her brother and his friend were perhaps a little bit more. As if Samuel's goofy grin while he listened to her talk wasn't enough, Daphne suddenly reached up and planted a chaste kiss on his lips. Samuel was left completely frozen even as the girl wrapped her arms around him briefly, then let go and started off in the opposite direction. His younger sister could only giggled.

Oh, was she ever going to tease him for this.

When he came inside a few minutes later, the dark haired girl hid behind around the corner, a smirk tugging at her lips. Samuel slowly entered the hall, glancing around in all directions before deciding it was safe and starting for his room

Teresa put on an innocent smile and stepped into view.

"Afternoon, big brother!"

Samuel stopped dead in his tracks and whirled around, eyes wide.

"Teresa!" He exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"I should ask you the same question," Teresa answered, casually walking towards him. "So, how's _Daphne_?"

She made sure to emphasize the girl's name heavily, and it seemed Samuel got what she was implying.

"She's fine," he answered curtly, entering his room. "We were just talking."

"Talking," Teresa repeated with false naivety. "You can do that when your lips are attached?"

Samuel banged on the wall with his fist in annoyance. He stuck his head out to glare at her.

"Just knock it off," He all but ordered her.

Teresa, however, wasn't done yet. She followed Samuel into his room, squeezing her way in right before his door closed. The teenager groaned, but said nothing else. Teresa watched him amble over to his bed and sit down, opening his drawer and shifting around.

"You know we're leaving soon, right?" She asked him. "Father said we're going in two days."

"I know," Samuel answered distractedly. "That's why I was saying good-bye to Daphne. As a _friend_."

Teresa raised an eyebrow at that last bit. He'd added it after a second long pause, in the most defensive voice humanly possible. It never occurred to Teresa before what a bad actor her brother could be, at least when it came to stuff like this.

"Okay," Teresa said with a shrug, not meaning it at all. "If you say she's just a friend, then I'll believe you."

"Good," Samuel muttered, furrowing his brow as he continued rummaging.

"What are you searching for?" Teresa asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Nothing," he answered much too quickly.

_'He's really secretive today,' _Teresa said to herself.

She quietly watched her older brother continue his search until his hand suddenly stopped moving, and a triumphant grin appeared on his face. He pulled out a small object Teresa couldn't identify. Then she noticed a long string attached to the object that lead back into the drawer and it dawned on her.

"Is that your necklace?"

Samuel smiled and held it up into the light. Teresa's eyes traced the lines of the pendant, which was really a large tooth, belonging to a bear Samuel had managed to kill on his first hunting trip with Dad. Teresa had to suppress another giggle. Samuel always went on about how he'd chased the bear down and delivered the final blow after scaring it into submission. Her father's account of the story was far more realistic: Samuel had been walking along a cliffside and slipped, leading him to almost go over. He grabbed some rocks to pull himself back up, and one very large one fell and hit a passing bear on the head.

The beast hadn't even died, according to her father, but it was knocked unconscious and several of it's teeth had fallen out. Samuel just grabbed the biggest one he could find and got mother to make a necklace of it for his birthday. Thought he didn't always wear it, Samuel always kept it nearby.

The teenager gazed at his treasure for a few seconds more, then turned his attention back to his little sister.

"Yeah, so what?" He half-demanded.

Teresa shrugged. "I just don't understand why you don't wear it more often since you like it so much."

"Because," Samuel drawled. "This isn't just some trinket or piece of jewelry. This is a confidence booster."

Samuel threw the chain around his neck and puffed his chest out, proudly displaying the charm to his unimpressed little sister.

"With this one, nothing can stand in my way! I can take on the world!"

"And impress your girlfriend?"

"Yes!" Samuel responded without thinking. "Impress my girl… she is NOT my girlfriend!"

Teresa just laughed and ran out of the room. She didn't know if Samuel was chasing after her or not, nor did she care.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Teresa was in a good mood. They would be leaving Vereor forever the day after tomorrow, and she couldn't be more excited. Her parents were too, though they hid it better than their oldest daughter. Even so, it was rather noticeable since they began packing over a month ago.

The only person who showed even a bit of sadness over the move was Samuel, mostly because he didn't want to leave Daphne, Teresa suspected. No matter how much he denied it, she knew he liked her.

Teresa moved briskly down the hall to her bedroom, a smile on her face.

She passed a particular room with the door wide open. As if on cue, a cry rang out from inside the instant she passed by. Suddenly, Teresa's good mood vanished completely. It didn't take long for her mother to arrive, tearing into the baby's room at warp speed. Teresa stood back, frowning as her mother lifted the baby girl into her arms and rocked her back and forth, whispering soothing words under her breath.

In spite of all that had happened, Teresa still didn't like her new little sister. She didn't outright hate her anymore (at least, that's what she told herself), but she doubted they'd ever be particularly close siblings. She just hoped the girl didn't take a liking to Samuel when she was older. Her parents being obsessed with the baby was bad enough, Teresa didn't need her brother jumping on the bandwagon too.

This should have been a simple mindset to keep, it really should have. One thing, however, made it incredibly hard for Teresa to dislike her sister properly.

"Oh dear," her mother murmured when the baby refused to calm down. At that moment, the woman noticed her other daughter standing in the doorway and breathed a sigh of relief. "Teresa, come here and hold her, will you?"

Teresa fought back the urge to scowl and walk away. The last thing she wanted was to be any closer to that baby than she already was. Swallowing her anger, Teresa did as her mother asked, holding out unwilling arms for the tiny bundle.

"Watch her head," her mother spoke an unneeded warning.

Teresa arranged the baby in her arms, and frowned deeply when her sister's crying began to cease, until she was completely silent and staring up at Teresa would large, questioning blue eyes. The dark haired girl stood there awkwardly, still as stone. The baby didn't mind, she was perfectly content with staring at her sister, filled with a wonder that left Teresa uncomfortable.

She heard her mother sigh happily.

"That's just so sweet," she gushed. "It's like she knows that she's alive because of you, Teresa."

It was true, at least it may have been true. Teresa didn't know what it was for sure, other than the fact that it was cruelly ironic considering how much she didn't want to ever be around her sister.

No matter what the reason, in the three months since she'd been born, that baby never shed a single tear when Teresa held her.

* * *

"Teresa?"

The girl looked up from the book she'd been reading. Her eyes went to the wide open door of her room as her mother called her a second time.

"Teresa, could you come here, please?"

Teresa blinked. Confused, but obedient, the young girl slid off her bed and walked out the door and down the hall. She would have stopped at the living room, until she noticed the kitchen was lit up.

_'That's odd,'_ she thought to herself. _'Dinner's not for another hour, isn't it?'_

Teresa rounded the corner, bringing the kitchen into view. It took a moment to register her family sitting at the kitchen table smiling at her, and another moment to notice that dinner had already started, and it appeared tonight's meal consisted of all her favorite foods.

"Happy 11th birthday, Teresa!"

The girl blinked. She glanced around, as if expecting someone to jump out at her and tell her this was a joke.

"But, my birthday's not for another two weeks," she said dumbly.

Her father laughed and shook his head.

"We know, sweetheart," he answered her. "But since we'll be traveling for several weeks, there's a big possibility that we won't able to celebrate it properly."

"So we decided the best thing to do was to simply celebrate now," her mother added.

"I even got you a present," said a smirking Samuel. "No need to thank me."

"That's good," the grinning Teresa said as he went to take her seat at the head of the table. "I wasn't going to."

Her parents laughed as took turns hugging and kissing their daughter, before the entire family sat down and began to eat. Teresa noticed the baby sitting in her high chair, eating some baby mush. Though she felt a small twinge of annoyance, Teresa was too happy right now to be fully angry at the baby.

Instead, she dug into the array of meat and vegetables, eating as much as she could while her mother lightly chastised her. She wouldn't have room for dessert, her mother reasoned.

When the meal was finished, her father brought out a small cake. It wasn't fancy, but then none of her birthday cakes had ever been particularly stunning. Teresa didn't mind, it looked wonderful to her. Her father allowed her to cut it, and she made sure to give herself the biggest piece, she was the birthday girl after all.

And as she ate, Teresa glanced out the window at the stars twinkling above. She'd long ago stopped believing in magic and wishes, but still, she closed her eyes and made a birthday wish.

_'I wish we could always be happy like this.'_

* * *

The next night found Teresa walking home after her final day of work with that sour laundress.

She'd taken great pleasure in informing the old woman that today would be her last day. The laundress just sniffed and set Teresa to work, refusing to give over her final pay until she completed that day's work.

Teresa kicked a can down the road as she got closer and closer to the house. She felt like grinning forever, even though it would probably hurt her cheeks at some point. She couldn't stop thinking about Reprospes and what a great place it must be. Her Aunt was probably a wonderful person who would take great care in helping them get settled and acquainted with the town. Samuel might sulk and miss Daphne, but surely he'd move on and find someone else.

Plus, if she was really lucky, the baby might take a liking to their Aunt or one of their cousins and forget about her. Then Teresa wouldn't have to hold her every time she cried anymore.

Oh yes, that would be very nice indeed.

Teresa kicked the can hard, sending it flying ten feet. Smirking, the girl narrowed her eyes and broke into a run, rearing her leg out as far as she could when she was close enough and sending the can flying. She opened her mouth to let out a whoop of joy, but a crash somewhere down the alleyway stopped her at the last second.

Teresa blinked and focused her eyes and ears on the pitch black space. She heard another, louder crash and then a soft, perpetual sound of… chewing?

The dark haired girl rolled her eyes.

'Don't tell me another stray dog is eating out of the garbage.'

She casually walked to the edge of the alleyway, peering into the darkness. Her eyes adjusted, allowing her to see a shadow of something. Something that looked less and less like a dog every second she spent staring at it.

In fact, if she didn't know any better, Teresa would say it looked like a human, but what human would be rummaging through garbage?

She heard another sound then, one that was a great deal different from those crashes. She heard a loud snap, like something very hard had just been broken in two. Teresa watched the figure raise whatever it was holding over it's head, then casually toss it behind him. It landed at Teresa's feet, right into the light letting her see just what it was with perfect clarity.

An arm.

A severed, human arm.

Teresa stared at it, blood running cold and knees giving out.

A scream tore out her throat before she could stop it, and even though she backed up, she could see the creature in the alleyway draw itself to full height and turn around, it's demonic yellow eyes shining in the darkness and baring down on her.

A youma.

She heard it growl, followed by a heavy footstep. Teresa didn't need any more prompting, she sprang to her feet and ran, faster than she ever thought herself capable.

The beast roared behind her, and several other roars answered it. Teresa's fear grew with every single one she heard. Just how many youma were there in this town?

She made her way back home with ease. Even in her terrified state, she managed to navigate properly. Teresa ran up the stairs to the porch and tore the door open, not even bothering to check if it was open.

"MOTHER! FATHER!" She screamed, running through the front entrance and into the empty living room. "MOTHER! FATHER! SAMUEL!"

The house was quiet, much too quiet for Teresa's liking. She could hear the youma stomping around outside, as well as the screams of their hapless victims as they were torn to pieces.

"SOMEONE!" Teresa continued to cry. "THERE ARE YOUMA, FATHER! MOTHER!"

"Teresa?"

The girl stopped and whirled around. Relief washed over her as she took in the sight of her father, standing with a curious expression in the doorway of his and her mother's room. Teresa wasted no time in launching herself into her father's arms. The girl cried loud, heavy tears, burying her face into his shoulder.

"Hey, hey now!" Was her father's startled response. "Calm down, sweetie, tell me what's wrong."

Though she was still scared and crying, Teresa knew they couldn't just sit here. Those youma could decide to break in at anytime, they needed to get out of here.

"Father, there are youma," she forced out as she pulled away to look in his eyes. "Don't you hear them? I saw one eating someone just now, and there's a bunch more too. Father, we have to hide. We have to-"

"Oh, Teresa," her father breathed, pulling her close again. The action got her tears flowing again, leaving her unable to say anyway as she allowed her father to rub her back calmingly. "It's okay, it'll be okay. Don't cry, you're a brave girl, right? Brave girls don't cry."

"I'm scared," her voice was muffled and shaking. "What if they get you or mother or Samuel or-"

"Shhh," Her father silenced her again. "Don't think about that. It's going to be okay."

Teresa said no more, just nodded her head a bit and tried hard to calm herself, while her father spoke in gentle tone.

"There you go," he said when her sobs stopped. "That's my brave girl."

Despite her remaining fear, Teresa gave a tiny smile. Of course her father would protect them, what reason had she to fear?

"You're so brave…" her father repeated lovingly. "…and you smell delicious."

Teresa gasped.

Her father held her tighter, letting out an inhuman roar. With a scream, Teresa pulled her knee up into his stomach, causing him to loosen his grip on her. Teresa took two clumsy steps back before falling to the ground, and watched, her eyes going small with fear, as her 'father's' body twist and grew. His skin began a sickly dark green, his eyes turning yellow. He stood hunched over, bearing down on the young girl.

"What's wrong," the youma growled mockingly. "You scared of your _daddy_?"

It reared it's head back and laughed loudly. Teresa could almost hear her father's laugh somewhere behind the monster's.

"He tasted great, you know," the youma gloated. "I haven't had such a good dinner in weeks."

He drew himself to full height, and took a threatening step forward.

"And you'll make a good dessert."

Teresa didn't move. She didn't say anything. All she could do was stare at the beast wearing her father's skin. Mocking her with it's monstrous eyes and gnashing teeth. Unspeakable fear took over, her whole life flashed before her eyes. This was it. This youma had killed her father, and now she would follow.

Somewhere within that crippling fear, Teresa felt a flame of vengeful anger. She wished she had the power, like those Claymores sent to kill these horrible beasts. If only she could kill this monster, avenge her father, stare into it's demonic eyes as she held it's life in her hands and coldly snatch it away.

If she could only do that, she'd do it gladly.

With a smile on her face.

Teresa saw drool falling from it's teeth, it's hungry eyes never leaving hers. She refused to close them. Even if she was afraid, she wouldn't give this monster the satisfaction of knowing that. She'd kept her eyes open and dry for as long as she remained alive.

Because of this, Teresa was given a full view of Samuel running up behind the youma, a large piece of wood in hand. With a loud scream, the teenager brought the makeshift weapon down on the youma's head, making it cry out in pain and clutch it's head. Samuel hit it again and again, taking no time to rest and screaming like a madman the entire way.

"RUN, TERESA!" He shouted to her at one point. "GET THE BABY!"

She didn't listen. She stood rooted to the ground while her brother continued his relentless assault on the youma, which was unable to fight back thanks to Samuel's constant movements. Finally, Samuel brought it down on the monster's head with one powerful smack. Completely worn out, the youma moaned and fell unmoving to the ground. Teresa just kept staring at it, unsure of what to do or say.

Then Samuel dropped the wood and grabbed her arm, roughly dragging her away from the body.

"What are you doing?" He demanded. "I told you to run, that thing's not dead. It could wake up at anytime!"

He lead her down the hall to the baby's room. Somehow, all the screaming hadn't woken her from her slumber, but Samuel ripping her out of the crib certainly did. The baby cried out, and Samuel immediately shoved her into Teresa's arms, ignoring her protests.

"She doesn't cry when you hold her," he reasoned.

Samuel pulled Teresa back out of the room, though a bit more gently than before. He had to be mindful of the baby, after all.

They ran out the door, Teresa only barely getting a look at the still unconscious youma that wore her father's face like a disgusting mask. That's when she was reminded of something, or someone, very important.

"Samuel, what about mother?"

Her brother shook his head and ignored her question.

"Samuel!" Teresa tried again.

"Just be quiet, Teresa," he hissed at her. "We can't let them hear us."

That was not a satisfying answer, not by a long shot. Teresa turned around, finding her parent's window lit up by candlelight. Without thinking, she ripped her arm out of her brother's grasp and took off back towards the house.

She heard him shout after her, but didn't care. Teresa had to know where her mother was. She headed for the window, momentarily forgetting the baby in her arms. The room was on the first floor, so Teresa merely needed to stand in front of the window and peer inside.

She saw her mother almost immediately. Her heart stopped.

Her mother lay there, her upper body hanging limp off the bed, her chest torn open and her half eaten innards scatters to and froe.

Her eyes were open, wide with eternal fear and sightlessly returning Teresa's gaze. The young girl's mouth opened wide, and she almost brought a hand to it before she remembered the baby in her arms.

She was only vaguely aware of Samuel calling her name. She felt him grab her arm and violently pull her away, bringing her somewhat back to her senses.

"You idiot," he said in a loud whisper. "I didn't want you to-"

A roar rang out from inside the house. The youma had woken up, it seemed. Samuel reacted instantly, pulling Teresa into the forest behind the house. He didn't really need to, this time, Teresa was running on her own.

They sprinted through the forest, Teresa trying to step lightly even in her frantic state. As Samuel predicted, the baby remained completely silent, to the point where Teresa wondered if she'd actually fallen back asleep.

She didn't know how long they ran for, but they hadn't gotten far enough to escape the youma, as one let out a roar only just behind the thick branches and enormous tree bark. Both siblings stopped immediately, freezing in place and listening for more sound. Samuel motioned for Teresa to remain silent, then his eyes widened as he caught sight of something behind her. Before she could ask, Samuel grabbed her again and pulled her towards a dead tree, whose bark had a large hollow covered from view by the steep slop of the pathway. They climbed down, careful not to disturb the baby and entered the small cove. It was a tight fit, but they managed to get in and out of sight. Now it was just a matter of staying hidden until the youma left.

Teresa tried to control her heavy breathing, Samuel was having similar trouble from what she could hear. The baby was still silent, and Teresa had to pull her close due to the darkness, just to make sure she was still breathing.

She felt tears forming fresh in her eyes, the vision of her dead mother, and her possessed father coming back at full force. She lowered her head, unwilling to let Samuel see her cry. It didn't do much, as her shaking shoulders gave her away. The next thing she knew, Samuel had grabbed her , forcing her to look up at his eyes.

"Stop that," he said in a soft, but commanding voice. "Don't cry."

Teresa opened her mouth, but all that came out was a hiccup.

"_Don't cry_," Samuel repeated with a great deal more force behind it. "Dammit Teresa, you can't do this right now."

"But-" she whimpered. "Father… Mother…"

"They're dead," Was his harsh response. So much so, that it felt like he'd literally punched Teresa in the gut. "They aren't coming back, and I know you're sad, but crying won't do anything. It's a weakness, only weak people cry."

He removed one hand, bringing it to his chest. Teresa followed it with her eyes, and noticed for the first time that he was still wearing the bear-tooth necklace. He pulled it up over his head with one hand, and then used both hands to throw the string over Teresa's head. She stared at him in confusion, her hand unconsciously going to the hard tooth.

"You have to be strong now," he told her more gently. "That's what Mother and Father would've wanted, understand?"

She nodded, though right now, she didn't feel particularly strong.

"Just keep that necklace on," he continued. "It's a confidence booster, remember? As long as you're wearing it, nothing can hurt you. You're the strongest girl, no, _woman _in the world. Don't forget that, and never cry."

Again she nodded. She repositioned the baby in her arms so she could raise an arm to dry her tears away. It was only then that she realized that for all his talk of strength and weakness, Samuel's own eyes were shining like water.

Footsteps. Loud footsteps appeared above them. Samuel and Teresa froze in place, the latter pulling the baby closer to her. Samuel wrapped his own arms around her, careful not to hurt the baby. He held Teresa close as they both listened to the sound of the footsteps, now accompanied by a low growling.

"There're humans here," the monster ground out. "I can smell them."

Teresa took in a sharp breath. The monster was coming closer, she could hear it's steps louder every time. Another set joined them at that point. Two youma were coming towards them now. Teresa pressed her face into Samuel's shoulder afraid that she would cry out if she didn't.

"Come out, little human," the second youma taunted. "Come out, come out wherever you are!"

This was it.

She knew this was it. The monsters were practically breathing down their necks. Just a little more and they'd find their hiding place. Once that happened, all of them would die, and join their parents in whatever afterlife existed.

Teresa heard Samuel take in a breath as he pulled away from her. The dark haired girl gazed up at him, and found his eyes wide with sadness and determination. He raised a hand to silence her before she even had the chance to open her mouth.

"Remember what I said, Teresa," his voice was strange. What was that tone? "Be strong, don't ever cry. Protect our sister, okay?"

She did nothing. She had no idea what to do or say in response to that. His face faltered a bit, losing some of the determination, but gaining a great deal of sadness and regret.

And he was crying again.

"I love you, sister. Never forget that."

Then he jerked away, shooting to his feet the second he was out in the open and broke into a run.

"COME ON, YOU BASTARDS!" Teresa heard him shout at the youma. "I'M RIGHT HERE, SO COME AND GET ME!"

"SAMUEEEEEL!" Teresa screamed after him.

But the roars of the youma as they tore after her brother drowned her out completely.

* * *

The next day dawned, and all was quiet.

Teresa didn't know where the youma had gone, and she didn't know how Vereor had faired or if anyone was even still alive. She just knew the youma were gone. Likely to rest after their filling meal of her mother. Her father. Samuel.

Everyone but her and the baby, who still rested in her older sister's arms, blissfully unaware of the world around her.

Teresa didn't bother going back to town. It would've been the smart thing to do, she realized, but she didn't care. She could never go back to that town again, no matter the reason.

She walked aimlessly through the forest, no destination in her mind except 'forward.' Her steps were shaky, her mind clouded from lack of sleep. Still, she pushed on, for if she stopped moving, she feared her head would fill once again with thoughts of her family.

What had happened to the youma possessing her father?

Had her mother's remains been further feasted upon?

How long had it taken for the youma to chase down Samuel and make him their dinner?

What about Daphne, and the laundress, and that gang of thugs? Were they alive or in a youma's stomach?

More than anything, she had to avoid these questions.

She heard tiny moan, and felt fidgeting in her arms before the baby's hand shot up. It weakly smacked against Teresa's chest, making her look down.

"You must be hungry," the girl muttered absently.

The baby lowered it's pudgy arm and opened it's eyes. Teresa's dark brown eyes met the baby's crystal blues. Eyes just like their father's.

Just like Samuel's.

Teresa stopped dead in her tracks. She fell to her knees, dropping the baby into the soft grass. She wasn't injured, but began screaming anyway. Teresa let out a shriek of her own and punched the grass just beside the baby's face.

"This is your fault," she growled, her head down and her breathing becoming heavy again. "Everything… IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Her scream sent all the nearby birds flying away. Even if the baby could understand her, she didn't listen, and simply kept bawling. The fires of Teresa's anger grew higher than ever.

"I HATE YOU!" She screamed in the baby's face. "None of this would've happened if you didn't exist. We would have been safe in Diogel. Father and Mother and Samuel would be alive. We wouldn't have been forced out. It's all because of YOU!"

By now, the crying had ceased, but it did little to appease the baby's older sister. Teresa smacked the grass again, tears streaming down her face as she stood back up and began to walk away, leaving the baby in the clearing.

"I never want to see your face again," she spat over her shoulder. "I hope you make a good meal for the youma."

She took three steps before the crying started again. Teresa almost stopped, but kept moving. It was better off this way, she'd survive easier without the baby, and she hated it anyway.

What did she care if it lived of died?

She made it to the edge of the clearing. One more step, and she'd be out of sight. That baby would be out of her life forever.

_"Protect our sister, okay?"_

Teresa stopped, a gasp ripping out from her throat. The face of her brother was clear in her thoughts, the last time she'd ever seen him. Her tears continued, harder this time, but she brushed them away.

She remembered that she wasn't supposed to cry anymore.

"Okay," she hiccupped. "Okay, Samuel. I won't cry. I promise you, I'll never cry again."

Teresa turned around and walked back to the sobbing baby. She picked her back up, rocking her a bit like their mother used to. The baby quieted instantly, and the sisters stared into each other's eyes until Teresa sighed and looked up, starting again for the forest.

_'Mother, Father, Samuel, please watch over us.'_

She pushed a tree branch out of her way.

_'I swear I'll protect my sister, and I'll never cry again.'_

She moved around a mud puddle, not wanting to get anymore dirty that she already was.

_'I'll keep moving, and I'll keep living.'_

That night, she found another tree for them to hide under, and rocked the baby to sleep before closing her own heavy eyes.

_'I promise I'll keep...'_

* * *

Early morning rose over the town. A farmer on the outskirts exited his home, stretching his tired bones in preparation for another day of work.

His assisstant was already on the job, which made the farmer smile in approval. The young man was a hard worker, that was good.

They went through the daily routine in silence, just like any other day. Then the assisstant suddenly stopped, just as the farmer heard a rustling behind him.

"Look," the assistant said, pointing at the bushes some feet away.

The farmer drew himself to full height, following the younger man's finger with his eyes. He was stunned when he realized what the man was pointing at.

A girl, no older than ten or eleven, holding a bundled up baby in her arms. Her hair was a complete mess, her eyes an empty void. Her body was covered in cuts and dried blood, and her skin was ashen, like she hadn't eaten in days.

"Oh My God…" the farmer breathed.

As if only just noticing him, the girl looked up. She continued walking until she stood right in front of him, and held the (supposedly) sleeping infant up to him.

"I think she's sick," she said in a hollow voice.

Her knees buckled immediately after. The farmer barely had time to grab the baby from her before the girl slumped to the ground, out cold.

* * *

Teresa didn't know how longed they traveled. The sun rose and set all on it's own, she could hardly keep track anymore.

She slept when she could, and ate whatever small animals she could kill. Feeding the baby had been the hardest part. Teresa noticed a few days later that she still had the money the laundress had given her. What she had was barely enough to buy a week's worth of food, but it wasn't like there was any place in the forest to buy anything.

She mostly fed the baby berries she picked off the bushes. She remembered her father once telling her how to tell the difference between good and poisonous ones. It usually satisfied the baby's hunger, and she always had enough water thanks to the abundant of lakes and rivers.

Even so, Teresa could do little to protect her sister from the cold night. She didn't even know how she herself had survived this long. It had to be her will to live. She clutched the necklace to her every night, reminding herself and she was strong, and that she would survive.

She found a town by accident, the very same day her sister started making an unpleasant coughing noise. It seemed luck was on her side for once. Even though she was relieved, it seemed the long period of almost no sleep was finally getting to her. She barely had time to tell the first person she saw that the baby was sick before everything went dark.

Teresa regained consciousness, but refused to open her eyes. She felt a soft bed underneath her. Harder than her old one, but a bed nonetheless. She'd almost forgotten it felt like to sleep on something besides grass and tree bark.

As she thought this, her memories all came flooding back. Teresa gasped and shot up in bed, frantically taking in her surroundings.

She was in a large room. Her bed was against the wall and identical ones sat on either side of her. She could see other people in those beds, still asleep as the sun had just barely begun to raise. Teresa pulled the covers off and slid out of bed. She found to her immense displeasure that her legs where still weak when she fell to the floor and had to struggle to get back up.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Teresa heard someone approach her, then grab her by the shoulders and carefully lift her back onto the bed. It was a woman of about 50 years old, dressed in a plain brown frock. Her graying hair was held back in a tight bun, and she studied Teresa with an analytical, but not unpleasant eye.

"You're too weak to move right now, dear," the woman said as she helped Teresa back in bed. "It's a miracle you and your baby are even alive."

The baby…

"Where is she?"

Teresa tried to get out of bed again, but the woman was much stronger than she looked (or was Teresa just weak right now) and pushed her back down easily.

"Stop that, you're going to make yourself sicker."

"Just tell me where my sister is!"

The woman stood back, looking sympathetically down at the child.

"You're sister is fine for now," she explained. "She's made it this past day, which is a good sign."

Though her words were reassuring, her tone wasn't.

She walked away before Teresa could ask anymore questions. Teresa was left to wallow in fear that the baby was dead for another hour until the woman returned with food for the now awake patients.

"Where's my sister?" Teresa asked the second the woman's attention was on her.

"She's stable," the woman answered. "We won't know anything for a while longer, but I think she'll-"

"You THINK?" Teresa shouted.

The woman held out her hands in surrender, hoping to calm the dark haired girl down a bit.

"I'm sorry," the woman's voice took on a stern edge. "I see you don't want me to sugarcoat it. We're doing all we can for your sister. She isn't here because we keep infants and younger children in a separate room. She's alive and breathing for now, but she's still very sick. It's all up to the Gods whether or not she makes it."

Teresa stared at her until she couldn't bare to any longer, and let her eyes drop. Her heart sunk, sadness overtaking her, but her eyes remained dry as ever.

"What were you doing in the forest anyway," the woman suddenly asked. "Where are your parents?"

"Dead," Teresa answered, forcing the emotion out of her voice. "Them and my brother. The youma killed them."

She heard the woman draw in a breath, and got a tiny amount of satisfaction from finally getting to her.

"We've been looking for a town called Reprospes," she went on as if having a casual conversation about the weather. "I don't really know the way, so I'll probably never find i-"

She stopped. Having looked back up at the woman, she was surprised to find her eyes wide with shock, before a warm smile crossed her wrinkling features.

"What?" Teresa demanded more than asked.

The woman ignored her tone, as her smile became a grin.

"Young lady, you've been through so much trauma in your short life, but today, the Gods are on your side."

The woman raised her arms outward, as if trying to make herself seem bigger.

"Welcome to Reprospes."

* * *

Teresa memorized the address her Aunt sent in her letters. From there, it was only a matter of the woman, whom Teresa discovered was a doctor named Jill, sending an attendant of hers to go and get her Aunt.

Not ten minutes later, the attendant returned, accompanied by another middle aged woman, this one significantly prettier than Jill despite her age. Teresa hadn't been sure what to do when she saw the woman. Her entire goal all this time had been to find Reprospes, meet her Aunt, and try to rebuild the shambles of her life.

All she could do was look into eyes like the ones she'd been seeing in her baby sister. The blue eyes she'd never inherited from her father. Somewhere along the line, a dam broke, and Teresa's Aunt dissolved into tears, hugging Teresa close and ignoring Jill and the attendant's objections.

"You're here," she sobbed in Teresa ear. "I'm so happy."

Unfortunately, Teresa wasn't ready to leave the hospital. She was still weak and needed a lot more rest. Her Aunt, Rebecca, stayed with her for several hours, talking in length about Teresa's father and all the things they did together as children. Teresa listened to every word, even when her Aunt trailed off to talk about something completely different, which was often. Teresa refused to fall asleep until her Aunt's story was done. She wanted to make positively sure this was real, and not just a cruel dying dream as she wasted away in that endless forest.

Days went by. Her Aunt visited constantly, never accompanied by her husband and children, when struck Teresa as a little odd. Aunt Rebecca reported every day that the baby was alive, but still sick. Teresa herself couldn't stop worrying. She wasn't sure when these last few weeks she'd begun to care for her sister so much, but the fact remained that somehow, she'd found it in herself to do so. That was all that mattered.

One night, almost a week later, Teresa heard Jill and Aunt Rebecca speaking in hushed tones that she could barely make out.

"…'s recovering nicely… tomorrow for sure."

Teresa heard her Aunt let out a relieved sigh.

"Good, I'll let them know."

_'Let who know,'_ Teresa wondered. _'My uncle and cousins?'_

Teresa continued to ponder this until sleep finally overtook her.

* * *

The sun was bright the next day, mirroring Teresa's general mood quite well. The girl ate her breakfast fast, she was excited to finally get out of this stupid hospital for good. Now if only her sister would get better, everything would be…

No, that wasn't right. Everything would NOT be perfect. Her parents and Samuel would still be dead, nothing could ever change that. Teresa felt horrible sadness anytime they crossed her mind. It used to be that when this happened, tears would try to force their way out of her eyes, but she always held them back. Now it was as if they'd given up the fight, because she never even felt like crying anymore.

Nothing could ever be the same again, she realized, but that wouldn't stop her from moving forward. With Aunt Rebecca, and her uncle, and her cousins, and her baby sister, she make a new life. And someday, she'd be happy again.

"Teresa?"

Jill stepped into the room, a smiling Aunt Rebecca right behind her.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?" The latter asked.

Teresa returned her smile. "Great, I'm just glad to finally get out of here."

Aunt Rebecca laughed and shook her head.

"Not as glad as I am, I'm sure."

Teresa refused to be helped out of the bed. She was strong enough to do it herself now. She did allow Jill and Aunt Rebecca to guide her to the door. Jill informed her that her sister was getting her daily check-up, but promised she could come back tomorrow and see her if she wanted. Though Teresa was quite pleased with the idea, her aunt remained oddly tight lipped.

They walked in silence down the street. Teresa didn't mind as she took in the new looking building and crowds of people wandering the town. It really was a lot like Diogel, she thought to herself.

"Father was right," she whispered.

"Did you say something, dear?" Her Aunt asked.

Teresa shook her head. "No, I'm just talking to myself."

They arrived at her Aunt's block, and Teresa noticed that two carts were parked outside the home her Aunt pointed out as hers. Her Aunt suddenly seemed more at ease, she'd been rather tense the entire walk home.

Upon entering the house, Teresa once again stared in amazement at the inside. It was larger than even their house in Diogel had been. Her Aunt's family must have been incredibly wealthy. Teresa smiled and closed her eyes, bringing a hand to her chest to grip her shirt.

Her eyes opened again when she realized something was missing.

"Samuel's necklace," she gasped.

Teresa turned and started for the door without thinking. A hand shot out and grabbed her before she could get too far.

"Teresa, where are you going?" Aunt Rebecca asked.

"I forgot something at the hospital," the young girl explained. "Can we please go back and get it?"

Her Aunt gave her a peculiar look and didn't answer. That was the first sign Teresa picked up on that something wasn't right. The next was when Aunt Rebecca wordlessly lead her to the living room, where two men dressed all in black sat waiting for them.

Teresa had a good feeling neither of these men were her Uncle. They both stared at her like she was a bug under a microscope, smiling in ways that made Teresa's hair stand on end.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, gentlemen," her Aunt said respectfully to them. "Here she is, she's been given a clean bill of health."

One man stood up, and Teresa instinctively backed away. He strode forward with an air of superiority and took Teresa's chin in his hand, lifting her head one way then the other until she slapped him away and moved back against the wall.

"She's a tough one," the man's voice was like oil. "I think she'll make a fine soldier."

"Soldier?" Teresa repeated.

Her eyes darted for her Aunt, but the woman refused to look at her as the second man handed her a large sack.

"That should cover the payment," the first man said. "I'm sure you'll have no trouble paying those debts of yours now. Thank you so much for your business."

Aunt Rebecca nodded and walked away, not even looking back as the second man grabbed Teresa, holding her arms so she couldn't struggle, not that she didn't try.

"AUNT REBECCA!" She called out desperately.

The woman turned a corner, going out of Teresa's line of sight.

The two man dragged her screaming and jerking to their cart and pushed her inside. She was immediately grabbed by a third man, who shoved a smelly cloth under her nose while she continued with weakening efforts to fight back.

"Calm down," One of the men said to her. "This'll be easier on all of us if you don't struggle."

Teresa tried to scream as her consciousness slowly faded. Thoughts of her parents and Samuel and her sister went through her mind. Just as her vision completely faded, and her thought process was about to stop, she thought she heard the man again, speaking in a mocking tone.

"By the way, Happy Birthday, Teresa."

* * *

_'When I next woke up, my eyes and hair had been drained of all color._

_'I was a soldier for the Organization now, made only to kill youma. I never found out what happened to my sister. After all this time, I can't even remember her name. Or my parent's for that matter. I can only recall Samuel's. Yes… him I remember very well._

_'If my sister still lives, I suppose it doesn't matter. She'd be an old woman by now, at least I think so. These years are all staring to feel the same to me, it doesn't matter how much time goes by as long as I can still do my job._

_'And even though I've defected, I will continue to hunt any youma I see. That's my duty, not to the Organization, but to myself. Myself, and my mother and my father and Samuel._

_'I'll fight as hard as I always have, and never let anyone take me alive._

_'And while I've learned from Clare that it's okay to cry, I'll only do it when absolutely necessary._

_'The rest of the time, I'll just keep smiling.'_

* * *

**A/N: I'm too tired to write a proper one right now. Origins is complete, so next chapter will be the main storyline again.**

**Thanks for reading and be sure to review!**


	11. 07: Crossroad

**A/N: So this chapter is another one without too much action. Sorry about that. It is important though, both because of something that's established and also as a lead in for the next chapter, in which a ton of other stuff will be revealed.**

**Also, I noticed that quite a few reviewers think Clare is Teresa's sister. While that would make for one hell of a plot twist, unfortunately it's not the case. The timing just doesn't work. And if you recall, Teresa outright states in the last chapter that her sister would be on old woman by now assuming she's alive. So no, it's not Clare. Don't worry, you will eventually find out what happened to Teresa's sister, but not quite yet.**

**One more thing, and this isn't really that important to the story, I just wanted to point it out. At this point in time, Clare still has her long hair. Since she got the regular half-youma treatment in this story, she had an easier time in the final exam and didn't need to resort to what she did in that extra scene. Like I said, it's really not that important, so I can't say for sure yet if she will get her hair cut like in canon at some point. Maybe I'll make a poll of it or something.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and I apologize for my rambling. XD**

* * *

Hoping through the wet from rain grass, the pack of rabbits raised their noses into the air, sniffing out dinner. One of the bigger ones found some tasty looking grass and gnawed on it greedily while his brethren continued their search. They would have to find their own food as far as the rabbit was concerned.

A twig snapped in the distance, bringing all the rabbits to rapt attention, their ears tall and listening. They heard it again and scattered. An arrow sailed through the sky after them, impaling the bigger rabbit straight through it's heart.

Irene left her hiding spot and stood over the body of her prey. She picked it up between two fingers, crinkling her nose. Rabbit wasn't her favorite type of meat, but she didn't feel like walking further to find something else. It would probably go to waste just like this rabbit would anyway.

She carried it back to the cabin she'd, through several months of labor, managed to build for herself. In the small kitchen, she set the creature done and got to the job of skinning it. Irene averted her eyes, staring out the window while her knife wielding hand slid expertly through the rabbit's stomach.

Irene found herself thinking about Teresa again, as she was want to do on quiet days like this. She thought of Teresa and Noel and Sophia and Priscilla. Sometimes, her mind would even stray to that little human girl who caused everything. She wondered what kind of warrior that girl had grown into.

* * *

It was easy for Clare to ignore her fellow soldiers. Staring at a spot directly in front of her, frowning in a way that promised death to whoever was foolish enough to get too close.

Her legs felt more and more like rock with every step, and Clare bit her lip, forcing down a groan of irritation. She scanned every door she passed, coming closer and closer to the one designated for her. Once she's found it, she could finally get that nice hour's nap she'd been waiting for. That's exactly what Clare needed to recharge and get back to full strength.

In the meantime, she would entertain herself with images of Teresa's head staked onto her sword, her face frozen in eternal fear. Clare smiled despite herself, she couldn't wait until the day that image became reality. Until then, she would practice and dream and fight her way up the ranking.

"Well, hello."

Clare stopped. Her yoki flared for a split second before she brought it back down. The owner of the voice stepped towards her, heedless of the stone faced look Clare wore. Somehow, Clare had known right away who it was approaching, and as such, she wasn't shocked to see Hilary wearing a tiny smirk that nevertheless infuriated her.

"What kept you?" The more experienced warrior asked, circling Clare like a wildcat over it's prey. "I've been here for half a day already. You haven't been slacking, have you?"

Clare narrowed her eyes, she wanted nothing more than to strangle this damnable woman. As if sensing Clare's anger, Hilary's smirk faded.

"How do you expect to kill Teresa if you slack off?"

If she was expecting a verbal response, she didn't get one. Clare roughly pushed passed her, maintaining a complete lack of eye contact the entire way. Her feet click-clacked against the stone floors, and thankfully, no other set of footsteps followed her. Clare left Hilary in the dust, finding her door after turning one final corner and practically shoving it open.

Once her armor has been removed, Clare dropped on the bed, clothed only in her outer suit. She removed the metal boots last, throwing them across the room without a care for where they landed.

She laid down, arranging herself on her side and staring out at the rising moon. Her silver eyes fell to the walls as they began to feel heavy. Before completely succumbing to sleep, Clare made a note to get some more practice time later on before she was inevitably sent out on another mission.

Whether she would admit it or not (and she wouldn't), Hilary's words had had an affect on her. She supposed she should have known that she wasn't ready to hunt down Teresa. She was a new soldier and Teresa was the strongest on record. That's what everyone always said. Fighting Teresa was suicide, the former number two, Corissa or something, had learned that the hard way.

"Twenty seven," Clare spoke aloud the rank she had been given. Perhaps one day she'd be given the rank of twenty six, or twenty five.

Or one.

Clare smiled to herself, cementing that number in her mind. That was the dream, to become the strongest warrior the organization ever saw. Stronger than Teresa could ever hope to be. No matter how long it took, Clare vowed that she would do it.

_'Just wait, Teresa, just wait…'_

* * *

_She swings. Her opponent makes a similar move. Their swords clang together, creating sparks. Both fighters push harder and harder by the second. She grits her teeth, her opponent smiling mockingly at her._

_"Give up," she says. "You can't defeat me, we both know it."_

_"Fuck you," she answers. Teresa just smiles wider._

_She pulls her sword away fast, using the momentum to swing again while Teresa is unprepared. The former number one's yoki reading abilities are without equal, but so is Clare's speed and strength. She strikes gold, slicing Teresa's arm clean off._

_The fallen warrior howls in pain, but Clare doesn't stop to enjoy her success. Her hated enemy has three remaining limbs, after all._

_When it's over, Teresa is nothing more than a head and torso. Clare kicks a leg off into the distance along with Teresa's sword. Now it's her turn to smirk as Teresa shivers in fear._

_"Please, spare me," she begs pathetically. "I'll do anything. Please."_

_Clare laughs, and it's soft, but full of triumph. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. To think, Teresa was once the strongest soldier in history. Now she was nothing more than what she always had been deep inside: a sniveling little worm._

_Clare lifts one leg and plants it on Teresa's chest, right over her heart. The monster cries, almost as if she's a human who deserves that privilege. Clare raises her sword again, silver eyes burning with an unsuppressed bloodlust._

_"Spare you," she says in a low voice. "Isn't that what my mother and father said?"_

_Teresa's eyes widen, and she screams, pleading for help that will never come._

_"This is it," Clare says, pressing down hard to silence Teresa. "I've waited so long for this day."_

_She takes in Teresa's face, wanting to burn it into her memory so she can have it to cherish for the rest of her life. Her sword gleams in the moonlight, baying for more of Teresa's blood. Clare is very happy to oblige._

_"Goodnight, Teresa of the Faint Smile."_

_Her sword comes downs._

_She feels a hand on her shoulder, and it stops her sword just above Teresa's face. Clare blinks in confusion._

_"That's right," a voice says. "Very good, kill that filthy witch."_

_Clare cringes, that voice sounds so depraved, so disgusting, so much like what she'd always pictured Teresa's to sound like. She turns around, coming face to face with a human male. He is quite ugly, or maybe that's just the lewd expression he wears. It takes her a moment, but Clare notices that his other hand is non-existent. A bloodied bandage covered stump rests at his side as he looks down on her, smiling evilly._

_"But first… I'm so glad I got you alone."_

_Clare stumbles back. Her sword is gone and so is Teresa. She falls to the ground, her small, human body shaking from the impact. Her attacker looms overhead, but she can do nothing to stop him. If only someone could help her, save her from this monster. He grabs her by her hair. Clare screams._

_"HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE!"_

_He laughs raucously and throws her hard against a brick wall._

_"Don't bother, no one can hear you," he grins, all his rotten teeth showing. "And you're dear mommy-monster has abandoned you."_

_He rears back a leg and kicks her in the stomach. What follows is a blur of pain and screaming, mixed in with the evil man's laughter and cries of joy. She doesn't know when she blacks out, or what happens when she's unconscious. The next time her eyes open, a warm smile greets her. She feels strong arms around her tiny body, protecting her from any harm just as any good mother would her child._

_"Clare, wake up," she says. "You're safe…"_

_Happiness wells up like a balloon in her stomach. Suddenly the intense pain is a little more bearable, because she's finally with the one person in the world who truly loves her. She will never let Teresa leave her again._

_"Thank you."_

* * *

Clare's eyes snapped open. She stared wide eyed at nothing, mentally processing the dream she just had. Though her body was still, inside, Clare was raging. The fires soon broke through, allowing her body to move again. The first thing she did was scream, the second was to punch the nearby wall, leaving an indentation deep enough that she almost broke through to the other end.

This action relieved barely a fraction of her rage, and Clare had to fight to stay seated and not run off and find some unsuspecting fellow soldier to take the brunt of it out on. Breathing deeply, Clare drew herself to full height. Her legs started moving on their own, aimlessly wandering around in circles like a caged tiger.

_'What is this,'_ her mind hissed. _'First that creature and now my own dreams…'_

Growling, Clare clutched her head in her hands, digging her middle and index fingers into her scalp. Heedless of the pain they caused, she allowed memories of her dying parents, helpless at the hands of Teresa, to enter her mind. She remembered her father trying to shield her mother from the blade, his head flying off his body after mere seconds. Teresa was slower with her mother, stabbing her several times in the chest before finishing her off. The whole time, she'd been cold and emotionless, as if she was doing little more than squashing a bug under her foot.

Clare's anger started to intensify and she felt the sudden urge to punch the wall again, but she ignored it as best she could.

_'That's what happened, Teresa killed my parents. I know it's true, I was there. So where to these visions of me… relying on Teresa, loving her even… where on earth are they coming from?'_

Clare's hands fell limp, her eyes closing tight. She took several deep breaths, knowing that if she was ever going to figure this out, she couldn't afford to let her temper fly out of control like this. If she let that happen, who knows what the consequences would be.

_'I'm almost afraid to go back to sleep,'_ Clare chuckled humorlessly. _'The thought that I could create such ridiculous images…'_

She remembered how Teresa looked in that dream, soft faced and smiling warmly. Suddenly and completely without warning, they changed to gold. The same kind of gold that all soldier's had when they released their yoki. But these weren't Teresa's eyes anymore, Clare realized. They were eyes she'd seen quite recently.

"That's it," she said aloud, realization dawning. "That monster, at the Devil's Tree. This only started when I fought him. He looked in my eyes and… did something to me!"

Just what that 'something' was, Clare didn't know, at least not yet. The new soldier ran to the door, not bothering to put even her boots back on. She raced into the hall, only one goal and one person on her mind.

* * *

Hilary blew some stray hair away from her eyes, making a mental note to redo her braid later on. She leaned heavily against the wall, watching out the window as new trainees were being evaluated.

One was having trouble holding her sword properly, and a group of three other recruits seemed to find this the funniest thing in the world. They laughed and pointed every time the sword dropped from the girl's hand, and not once did the trainer do a thing to stop them. Which was to be expected.

Growing bored, Hilary lifted herself back up and started walking. She had no real destination, but felt that giving her feet some exercise might alleviate a fraction of her boredom. Just when were they planning on giving her an assignment that didn't involve babysitting anyway? It wasn't like the youma had taken a vacation or something.

"Hey!"

Hilary stopped and grinned. If she couldn't get something to kill, talking to Clare again was an acceptable substitute. She waited a few seconds and then turned slowly, as if trying to imply that she wasn't all that interested in the younger soldier.

Clare was fast approaching, hard determination obvious from her eyes to the air around her. Hilary had removed her outward grin, but inside it was wide as ever.

"Evening, Clare," Hilary greeted her as casually as possible.

This had the desired effect of making Clare angrier. She managed to control it though, speaking calmly even with the harsh undertones of her voice.

"What was that creature?"

It was really more a demand than a question. Hilary half expected Clare to hold her down and put her sword to her throat if she didn't get an answer. It was rather amusing, to say the least.

"Creature?" Hilary played dumb, marveling at how much fun riling up Clare was becoming.

Predictably, number twenty seven didn't take this well, stepping closer in an attempt to be intimidating. It probably would have worked better if Hilary hadn't easily defeated her just a day ago.

"Don't play with me," Clare said dangerously. "I want answers and I know you have them."

At this, Hilary's jovial attitude began to fade. She didn't like being accused of things, particularly lying. Hadn't she told this girl before that she didn't know what that monster was? Just how untrusting was Clare? More than Hilary had originally thought it seemed. It just wasn't a healthy way to go about life, even as a soldier.

The fact that she really _was_ lying didn't count as far as Hilary was concerned.

"You have quite an attitude," Hilary moved forward quickly, forcing Clare to back up. "You heard me say I don't know anything about it. What makes you think I do?"

"I don't," Clare admitted with no hesitation, the action surprising Hilary. "I have no one else that I can ask, and anyway, you haven't been honest with me so far. Why should I believe anything you say?"

Hilary raised an eyebrow. "But by that logic, if I told you right now that I do know something, how can you be sure I'm being honest?"

"Easily," was the answer. "I'd just make you show me your source of information."

Dead silence followed this. Both Clare and Hilary stared each other down, as if daring the other to make a move first. During this time, Hilary studied the shorter girl, begrudgingly admitting to herself that Clare's petulance was impressing her.

"You're really that confident I know something," she remarked. Clare barely flinched.

Sighing, Hilary stepped away, walking briskly down the hall away from the younger soldier.

"Follow me," she called out before Clare could even begin to scream at her to come back.

Hilary didn't bother to look over her shoulder, she knew that Clare was following her and would until they reached their destination. Hilary noted how lucky it was that no handlers or doctors were in the halls at the moment. It wouldn't do if she was caught leading another soldier to a location not even she was supposed to know about.

She'd be in even bigger trouble considering the third party who'd been listening in on her and Clare's entire encounter, and now followed at a 'safe' distance, roughly ten feet from the tiny streams of yoki she was unwittingly releasing.

Hilary wondered if Clare knew of her presence too.

* * *

Teresa dropped another log onto the fire, watching it grow and flicker while Volans held an impaled fish over the flames.

"How much longer do I have to do this?" The awakened being complained.

"Stop whining," Teresa ordered, snatching it away from him. "I could make you get the firewood next time. You and Orion."

Volans cringed, making a face that showed his incredible disgust at the idea. Out of all the beings in Teresa's little group, Volans and Orion were the most prone to fighting. Teresa had lost count of the number of fights she had to break up after the first month or so. By the second, she'd simply stopped caring.

For his part, Orion was sitting as ever at Pavo's side. She'd allowed them to have some time alone before, a gift for their 'good behavior' as she called it. Really, at this point, she was well aware that the five men would do nothing without her permission. When she'd become their unofficial leader, she didn't know. She didn't care to think too hard on it either.

Teresa's thoughts were interrupted by footsteps behind her. Her ears perked up at the sound, and she turned, smiling ever so slightly when she saw who it was and what he was holding.

"Mensa," she greeted the silent awakened being who held around ten logs in his arms. "Thank you, I think that'll be enough."

She couldn't see Mensa's face through the tall pile, but he probably hadn't given any reaction to her words anyway. He walked backwards, stopping under a tree where they kept the rest of the firewood and gently set it down. Teresa watched him place each log neatly onto the pile. She remember several hours ago, when Orion dropped his load of wood onto the ground in a messy pile. Mensa had gone over, completely unprompted, and arranged them in a pristine stack.

It was odd, but not uncommon. Teresa had noticed that Mensa was a stickler for neatness, particularly where Teresa herself was concerned. He always made sure her designated 'sleeping' area was clean of any twigs and leaves before Teresa even stuck her sword into the ground for the night. He never spoke a word, sleep little, and ate even less. She still hadn't seen his awakened form either.

Everything about Mensa was an enigma, not even his companions could answer Teresa's many questions. And whereas she'd long ago figured all the other four out, Teresa was starting to doubt Mensa would ever make any sense to her.

She sometimes wondered if he'd been like this as a soldier, or a human even. Maybe once, he'd been nothing more than a happy little boy, living without a care in the world aside from what mother was making for dinner tonight. Teresa smiled sadly. They'd all been like that once, she knew. Even the obnoxious Orion and the unfriendly Volans. Even she herself had been a child once.

Teresa's eyes fell to the ground. She thought to herself that it probably would have been better if they'd never stopped being those innocent children. Whenever she went to this train of thought, everything else was pushed to the side and temporarily forgotten.

And in their place came thoughts of Clare.


	12. 08: The Library Of Records

With each step she took, each corner they turned, each time Hilary ignored her questions, Clare's patience ebbed away a tiny bit more. Her lips were locked tight, her teeth biting down hard on the inside of her cheek. It was the only way she could keep from asking that same question for the umpteenth time, it wasn't getting her anywhere anyway.

The dimly lit torches lining the walls were the only sources of light, Clare couldn't even remember the last time she saw a window. The air was growing stale and warm the farther they walked. Her ears caught the light scuttling of rat's feet as they fled from the duo. Clare flexed her fingers again and again, her steps becoming harder with each passing second. They rounded another corner, and entered a hallway that was somehow even darker than the last. Clare grit her teeth when she realized she could no longer she Hilary's back. Biting back a growl, she closed her eyes and focused on the woman's yoki instead. Finding her signature was easy, but that wasn't the reason Clare's eyes snapped open, nor why she whirled around and drew her sword, waving it threateningly at the darkness.

No, that was because of the other yoki signature she sensed. It was incredibly faint, but it was there.

"Come out!" Clare shouted, her grip on the hilt tightening. "I know you're there, don't think you can hide from me!"

There was silence, followed by a shuffling of shoes on dirt, but nothing and no one appeared.

"COME OUT!"

"Clare," Hilary called out over her shoulder, a light suddenly forming around her as she lit a dead torch. "Relax, there's no need to shout."

The younger girl was about to shoot back all the reasons why this was _not_ a time to relax and a perfect time to shout, when the mass of black started to shift, and the newcomer slowly came into view. As expected, she was a soldier, clad in an immaculate standard uniform with her sword firmly strapped to her back. The young woman had hair down to her mid back that flared at the ends. Her arms hung at her sides and her head was down, a picture of innocence and lack of threat. Clare stood strong and narrowed her eyes, ready for anything this person might attempt. Out the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of gray as Hilary moved forward and placed herself in front of Clare and the other soldier.

"Pardon my friend," the braided warrior said, placing her hands on her hips and briefly turning her gaze to the gleam of Clare's sword. "She's just shy around strangers. May I ask your name and what you're doing here?"

Clare craned her neck to look over Hilary's shoulder at the girl. With the light now in front of her, Clare had a much better view of the woman's face and the non-threatening act she continued to maintain.

"Forgive me," she said. Even her voice was low and docile. "My name is Miria, I'm currently ranked number 17. I didn't mean to alarm either of you, I suppose my curiosity just got the better of me."

'_You think __**that's **__a good excuse?' _Clare desperately wanted to demand of Miria. Something she couldn't quite place was stopping her. Be it the increasingly tense atmosphere building between Hilary and Miria, or the fact that Miria had an annoyingly higher rank than her. Either way, she stayed rooted to the ground, eyes darting from one to the other.

Miria was staring into Hilary's eyes, and it was only through her face and body language- clearing her throat and standing up straighter- that Clare could discern how Hilary looked at the moment.

"I overheard you talking before," Miria went on unprovoked. "I wouldn't have listened in, but what you said about a source of information caught my attention. I couldn't stop myself from following."

She looked Hilary right in the eyes as she spoke. At least, Clare was pretty sure she was. The three of them remained silent as Hilary appeared to be contemplating this explanation. She then strolled over to Miria, the light of her torch rippling wildly from the sudden movement. Clare watched her elder circle the unwelcome guest, examining her up and down while Miria stayed still and quiet like a good, obedient soldier.

Hilary stopped abruptly behind Miria.

"What makes you think my so-called source of information is relevant to you?" she almost sounded intimidating right there, but somehow maintained an indifferent tone of voice. "You have no idea where Clare and I are going."

"I know it involves the Organization," Miria coolly answered. "You wouldn't be here in a forbidden zone if it didn't. And I have questions of my own regarding their practices, but no other way of getting answers. I saw an opportunity and I took it, that's all."

A pregnant pause followed. Clare bit down on her lip, waiting impatiently for Hilary to do something, anything, besides study Miria's face like she was a science problem. And if she didn't soon, Clare would. Her fingers clenched around her sword.

As if sensing this movement, and the millisecond long flare of yoki Clare accidentally released along with it, Hilary's eyes shoot to her, her lips twisted into a frown.

"Put that away," she said forcefully. "You're not starting a fight down here."

She then started forward and briskly walked by the stunned Clare with barely a glance in her direction. The light faded as she walked, leaving Clare and Miria in near darkness, listening to the sound of the older warrior's clanking footsteps.

"Are you two coming or not?"

Her shout made Clare's sword arm slacken and her jaw fall open. In the dim light, she could see Miria's eyes widen a tiny bit before she nodded and began walking. Swerving around Clare, making sure not to brush against her, Miria followed behind Hilary. Both young women keeping a steady pace that eventually brought Clare out of her stupor and charging after them, hastily returning her sword to it's sheath in the process.

Bypassing Miria, Clare made a beeline for Hilary and slowed once they were side by side. Hilary didn't acknowledge her.

"What are you doing?" Clare hissed, her eyes darting to Miria for a moment, making sure she was a safe distance away and wouldn't overhear.

"Hmm?" was Hilary's bored response.

"Don't 'hmm' me," Clare shot back. "Why are you trusting her? She could tell the higher-ups what we're doing!"

"You're right, she could do that," Hilary said bluntly and with a shrug. "And then we'll be punished severely for trespassing, breaking and entering, and several other serious offenses."

Clare opened her mouth, millions of responses swarming her mind and clamoring to come out, but Hilary wasn't done and a great deal faster.

"Should our new friend do this, she will be justly rewarded with a severe punishment for trespassing, breaking and entering, and several other serious offences."

And just like that, every single one of those millions of responses died in Clare's throat. She slowly closed her mouth, exhaling hard from her nose in an attempt to calm herself. Her head and eyes faced forward, as they would for the remainder of their journey. Her attention, however, was mainly on the sound of three sets of footsteps walking in tandem. That, and what had just been said to her, the implications they carried.

Though it was regulated to the very back of her mind and would remain there for years to come, a thought entered Clare's mind that maybe the Organization was more shady than even the common folk realized.

* * *

The large, iron door swung open with a high-pitched whine. Clare found herself staring into yet another void of blackness; Hilary's torch did little to help. Even when the trio stepped inside and her eyes began to adjust, Clare could make out nothing aside from a few tall, rectangular shaped on one side of the room. Hilary strode passed them, approaching the opposite wall and using her torch to light some candles, slowly bringing the room into view.

Clare had suspected from the start that Hilary would be bringing her to some kind of records room, and it appeared she'd been right. The bookcases she'd seen earlier were crammed with so many books and loose papers she was surprised it hadn't collapsed under it's own weight already. There were twelve of them in all, the back two were more sparsely filled with some shelves completely empty.

The right side of the room had a few more shelves, but most of the space was taken up by a table made of old hardwood that was splintered on the far end corners. A few chairs lined each side in general disarray. Clare approached it, lightly resting her palm on the surface and feeling it's cool temperature. She lingered a moment too long for Hilary, it seemed. The braided woman grabbed Clare roughly by the arm, pulling her away from the table and into one of the aisles past Miria, who was taking a large book out from a shelf against the wall.

Clare almost gagged as her nostrils were assaulted by a strong scent of dust and old parchment. Her face scrunched up, trying to inhale as little of the awful scent as possible. Hilary continued to drag her until they reached the very end of the line, at which point she let go and waved up and down the length of the bookcase.

"Everything you want to know is in this section," said Hilary.

Clare followed the still moving arm, noting the size of each book on each of the cases' six shelves.

"All this?" she asked incredulously.

Hilary's only answer to the younger girls amazement was a smile, before turning on a heel and going back the way she came.

"Start with the top shelf," she called over her shoulder.

Clare watched her go, her eyes narrowing and her lips all but vanishing. Breathing deeply to calm down, she reminded herself that Hilary was actually being helpful for once, and that she should be thankful for at least that. Hilary's insistence on being insufferable was a moot point at the moment.

Clare reached her arm all the way up and grabbed and opened the first book.

* * *

Miria snapped shut the book she'd been pursuing and set it aside as she reached for another one. Footsteps alerted her to one of her companion's arrival, but she didn't look up from the text, even when the one known as Hilary cleared her throat and spoke.

"Finding everything you're looking for?"

Miria didn't miss the undertones of mocking in the older woman's voice. She turned another page, skimming through wordy paragraphs written in faded ink. Murmuring to herself, she went to the next page and repeated the process.

"I'm not really sure what to look for, honestly," she admitted.

She could feel Hilary's eyes on her burn deeper. Miria sighed and raised her head, placing the book on top of the first one.

"You'll probably think I'm silly," Miria said, thinking herself silly enough for confiding in a total stranger. "I've been here for over a year now, and while I've never been able to confirm it, I keep getting this feeling, more and more lately, that the Organization is hiding things from us."

Hilary's eyes went so high on her forehead, Miria wondered if they would merge with her hairline. Much to her consternation, a low chuckle reverberated in the older woman's throat.

"Hiding things," she repeated with a grin. "I've never heard that before. The Organization has always been so open with information!"

Miria's eyes narrowed. "I mean it."

"I know," Hilary answered, surprising Miria. "You think you're the only one whose thought about it?"

Hilary grabbed one of Miria's discarded books, never once breaking eye contact until the book was open in her arms. She dropped her eyes to it, running her fingers softly done the pages and pacing aimlessly.

"If that's all you're hear for, I'm sorry to say there's a good chance you'll be disappointed."

Miria blinked, feeling an unpleasant weight drop into her stomach.

"What do you mean?" she asked, stepping in front of Hilary to halt her movements.

Hilary looked up beneath her eyebrows, her expression cooling. Inhaling deeply, she straightened up, revealing a two to three inch height difference between the two.

"I've come down here several times since I first found it," Hilary said, moving around Miria to pace again. "I've looked through almost every book and paper in this room. I've found records on soldiers from now, all the way back to the very first generation. Not only that, they have reports of various experiments the Organization has performed, both successful and failed. That area I showed Clare makes up the latter." She paused as she sat heavily on the closet chair. "Other than that, I've never seen anything else. I get the feeling all the really secret stuff you're interested in is being kept elsewhere."

Miria bit her lip, wanting to say something, but drawing a blank. Hilary seemed to take that as a cue to go on.

"So," she clapped her hands together. "You are free to come down here whenever you want and I won't tell, but don't expect to discover anything life changing."

With that, Hilary seemed to completely lose interest in the conversation. Her focus went back to the book, but Miria could not be sure that she was really reading or just ignoring her. Either way, Miria did not feel like delegating that with a response and went back to searching the shelves for anything that might be relevant. To what, she didn't know, must as it pained her to admit. But she knew what she'd seen and what she'd heard and how strange and uncomfortable it made her feel. She knew in her gut that a deeper side to the supposed protectors of the humans existed, and she would find it no matter what anyone said. Beside, Hilary said she'd only looked through _almost _every book.

It was several minutes later, while she was carefully reading the ink letter on the spine of each book, that another thought struck her. Miria started, unable to resist turning her attention back to her unwitting guide, though she had no idea if Hilary would answer this particular question.

"How did you find this place?"

To her surprise, Hilary eyed her immediately. Her foot was tapping at a slow rhythm against the dirt floors as a knowing look dawning over her features. Using her head, she made the tiniest gesture at the opposite end of the room.

"Go in that section one day," she said. "Look up Cammory Disaster. It's very compelling."

Miria wouldn't get another word from her.

* * *

Clare found it easy to shut out the noise around her. Hilary and Miria were speaking softly already, so all she really had to do was sit at the far end of the table and keep her head down in the crinkly pages. Having gotten used to the awful smell, it worked out pretty well.

She'd already gone through more records than she could count, all detailing experiments undertaken in the last few hundred years, many of which, she noted, resulted in horrible failure. With that failure came the deaths of many soldiers, all of whom were apparently listed as 'killed in the line of duty.' Clare snorted.

One in particular that caught her attention was an account from back when male soldiers were still in use. The goal was to create a soldier who could kill via touch. That anyone thought it would work coupled with the fact that this was attempted twice utterly baffled Clare. The first try resulted in a miserable beast described as having no discernable shape and no higher brain functions. It could move and had some method of vision and hearing, but that was it. The creature secreted an acid like substance that burned through anything it touched, from the sturdy metal of the claymores they carried to human flesh. The last paragraph listed the monster as destroyed, though Clare had no idea how they managed to do it. The second attempt had a much more traditional outcome; the soldier awakened and escaped during the process. Disconcertingly, the awakened being was listed as missing.

Clare shook her head, reminding herself that she had no time to get caught up in trivial matters. She turned the next page with more force than was necessary, coming dangerously close to tearing the paper. It took several more minutes, minutes that went by like a snail and left Clare's frustration to grow exponentially. She was close to throwing the book against the wall when she found it.

Several of the records were accompanied by drawings of the experiments, and this was one of them. Her eyes drank in the inky black lines that formed the cause of her nightmares. It was an exceptionally good drawing, whoever did it must have been in it's presence for a long time to be so accurate. That alone was a feat.

Something welled up in Clare's stomach. She finally got herself to look away from the picture's feline eyes and begin reading.

'…_to create a weapon against the rogue soldier, this creation's power would have allowed it to travel into the mind of it's target, invade it's psyche and discover the secrets, fears, memories hidden inside. The creation would then bring them all to the forefront, causing the victim to relive their memories and hallucinate their fears. The creation will distort everything they've ever thought they knew. The target would be rendered immobile from the sudden trauma and easy to eliminate…'_

The page went on to say that the first attempt at experimentation had gone array and the test subject escaped, never to be found even all these years later. Nothing more was said on the status of the project, whether it was cancelled or continued, but by then, Clare could no longer focus on the printed words. She very slowly straightened in her chair, staring aimlessly into the flickering light of a torch bolted to the wall.

Phrases she had just read were repeating again and again in her mind's eye. _'Travel into the mind of it's target… invade it's psyche… distort everything…'_

"So that's it," Clare said so softly she almost couldn't hear it herself.

She went over everything that had been happening since that day, slowly but surely piecing it together. That 'Devil' had to be the failed experiment this book talked about. It must have hidden in that forest for years, preying on unsuspecting passer-by, driving them to insanity with visions of their fears and desires. It all made sense to her now, that monster had used Clare's past against her, taking the object of her hatred, Teresa, and twisting Clare's memory of her into something else. No wonder she had that dream, of Teresa as a, dare she say it, motherly figure. That beast took her mother and Teresa and somehow forced her to see them in the same light, all to confuse and traumatize her like it did all it's prey.

Clare's shoulders began to shake and she bit back a sob, that last thing she would ever do is cry in front of anyone, especially these two. Her mother's face as she died, eyes bulging and hair soaked in blood, was one of her strongest memories, right up there with Teresa's murderous face. The idea of Teresa and her mother being in any way akin to each other made bile rush to her throat. Swallowing hard, Clare swiped the book away, not wanting to see those eyes, even if it was just a drawing, for one more second. She shoved some hair off of her forehead, which was covered in a thin layer of sweat despite the lack of heat.

Clare closed her eyes and opened them again, a strange calm washing over her like a waterfall. This changed nothing, she realized. Those dreams would not happen again, and even if they did, she knew the truth. Teresa was her enemy, she always had been. Clare had vowed to kill her and take her head and she would see that through no matter what. And maybe she'd find that monster again one day and have another go at it. She owed it so much, after all.

A hand slid into her line of vision, bringing Clare out of her thoughts, though not completely. She didn't need to look up to know who it was, that yoki signature had become quite familiar.

"Finished?" asked Hilary. "Because we shouldn't stay much longer."

Clare eyeballed her, noting Miria a few steps behind, waiting patiently for the two of them. The youngest soldier took a deep breath and stood up, not caring about the book that lay forgotten on the table.

"Let's go," was all she would say before heading to the door. She didn't even bother to check if they were following her out.

* * *

"You can go back whenever you want, now that you know the way," Hilary muttered in Clare's ear as they walked through the main hallway of Headquarters. Handlers and soldiers alike walked by without giving them so much as a second glance, completely unaware of what the trio had been doing.

None of them spoke a word to each other the whole way back. Miria seemed lost in thought, about what, Clare didn't know nor care. Hilary began talking the second they were out in the open and didn't seem ready to stop quite yet, much to Clare's growing annoyance.

"Just be sure not to get caught," the braided soldier went on. "If one of us gets found out, it'll only be a matter of time before they get the other two regardless of whether or not we talk."

She trailed off there, leaving Clare hoping that she'd stop for good now and that the three of them could peacefully go their separate ways. Fate, it seemed, wasn't on her side, and it wasn't even Hilary this time breaking the silence.

The high pitched chuckled sent a chill down her spine. Even worse was that she knew immediately who it was, having heard that laugh many times while recovering from her surgery. Clare, Hilary and Miria all stopped when the gaunt faced doctor appeared in front of them. Clare looked his bone thin body up and down, wondering how such an emanciated looking man could move so fast. Elgiz grinned widely at them, all his white teeth showing.

"Well, hello Clare," he greeted her with an awkward sort of wave. "Lovely to see you again! How has your day been."

Clare frowned. She remembered Elgiz's insistence on small talk as well. He would ask her that question every morning, afternoon and night when he came in for a check-up. She rarely gave him an answer then, and she didn't plan on it now.

"Sorry, Elgiz, we're a little busy right now," Hilary spoke up, patting Clare and Miria on the shoulders. "Lots of things to discuss between girls, you know?"

"Oh, of course," Elgiz nodded, with a cheery disposition that sound like something he practiced in front of the mirror every day. "I'll leave you to it."

Hilary nodded, an obviously fake smile plastered across her features. Still gripping their shoulders, she guided Clare and Miria around the doctor, refusing to make eye contact. Clare was confident they gotten away from him, when his voice rang out a second time.

"Don't be afraid to come to me if you want to talk," he was grinning again, his eyes boring into Clare's when she turned her head. "I like to think we're all a big happy family here, what do you think, Hilary?"

He followed this with another laugh, this one louder and with a great deal more humor. Clare decided she preferred the other one. This time, Hilary did not answer him, but merely growled and continued walking.

"Who was that?" Miria whispered in Clare's ear once they were out of his line of sight.

"Nobody," Clare answered without even looking at Miria.

* * *

They parted in the lounge area. Hilary reminded the two younger warriors one more time of the penalties if they got caught, though all three knew she didn't need to. From there, Clare found herself wandering the halls with no destination in mind. She'd considered going back to her room and trying to rest, but she had no idea what her dreams would have in store for her. She thought about going to the training grounds, but didn't have the energy for fighting right now. This left her staring out a window at the cloudless sky, nothing on her mind except the life she used to have. This was how Rubel found her.

He'd been assigned to her as a handler, and so far, Clare didn't like him one bit. The bald man's smile was all wrong. He wore it constantly and yet it was never happy. He wore sunglasses no matter what the weather was like, he didn't even take them off indoors. When he coughed to get her attention, Clare had to hide her discomfort at the reflection of her face were his eyes should be.

"I've been looking everywhere for you, Clare," he said pleasantly.

She didn't answer.

"You have an assignment," Rubel went on, leaning against the wall beside her. "It just came in."

This time, Clare offered him a look and sighed heavily. She really wasn't in the mood for this right now.

"Where am I going?" she asked, resigned. "How many youma?"

"None," he answered curtly, his odd smile growing.

This got Clare's complete attention. Her troubles momentarily forgotten, she stared into the shining lenses as the implications of that statement clicked in her mind. If she was being sent on assignment and it wasn't a youma, that could only mean-

"Congratulations, Clare. You're going on your first awakened being hunt."

* * *

**A/N: So this chapter required a full rewrite before I was satisfied with it. I've had writer's block for the last week, which is why it took way longer than I'd been hoping. For that, I humbly apologize. **

**On a side note, there's a funny story to this chapter.**

**See, when I first started writing this back in 2010, I had the first five chapters (not counting the prologue) planned out, including the 'Devil' monster and it's mindrape powers. Several months later, chapter 107 of the manga introduced Raftela.**

**Now, I get to feel all superior like I predicted Yagi-sensei's next move. :D**


	13. 09: Heart and Hunger

There was an invisible bubble around Clare as she walked. It kept out the sounds of swinging practice swords and fellow warriors arguing with each other and handlers bringing in a fresh batch of new 'recruits.' All of this was invisible to Number 27, the only thing she saw was the expanding forest up ahead. Her only thought was of her mission.

At least, that's what Hilary assumed as she watched her go. From her vantage point, high up and staring out a glass-free window, Clare was untouchable. Someone could probably throw a sword at her, and she wouldn't react beyond stepping out of the way (though she might return the favor as well, Hilary could never be sure). Her dedication and infallibility never ceased to amaze, not even now, when it did nothing but annoy the older warrior. Hilary shook her head.

"I don't know why I bother," she muttered. "Thank the Gods my baby-sitting days are over."

She turned on a heel and left the room, her cape swishing behind her. But even though Clare was long out of sight by the time she passed another window, Hilary's thoughts remained on her, and she had no idea why.

'_I suppose this might be good for her,' _her inner voice said over a large lunch of two thin bread slices. _'She faces something she never has before, something far over her head. It'll teach her humilty.'_

Hilary washed her meal down with a glass of water, sighing in contentment and kicking her feet back on the table. Several of her colleagues moved away, clearly annoyed by her rude display. Hilary couldn't find it in her to care.

"Of course, that's assuming she doesn't die," she finished the thought aloud with a sardonic smile that faded just as quickly as it came. Replacing it was blankness and an odd sense of almost emptiness.

For some reason, the idea of Clare stupidly rushing the monster and getting killed for her troubles wasn't as amusing as Hilary thought it would be.

* * *

The walk from Headquarters to the tiny, back water town of Tigio took three long, tedious days following a river and kicking fallen branches out of her way. Clare was tired of it after the first hour, and dealt with the agitation by going over in her head everything she'd learned about Awakened Beings and the monsters like them, both from her official education and her unofficial.

In truth, Clare tried to keep thoughts of the records library away. With them always came the image of those eyes, of what they did to her and almost made her believe. Whenever that happened, the nearest tree or patch of grass always took the brunt of her fury. The wandering rabbits and raccoons were lucky, being a safe distance away whenever she had these fits. When they were over, Clare would force herself to stop and take several deep, calming breaths. She reminded herself that there was a time and a place for thoughts of this (and of her), but now wasn't it. Now, she had a very important job to get to.

On the morning of the fourth day, Clare stood on a rocky ridge that overlooked her destination. She wrinkled her nose, it looked even smaller and dirtier than she could have imagined. Walking through the streets roughly an hour later, she couldn't help but notice the scarcity of people, and the gloominess around those she did see. They refused to make eye-contact with her, but that was normal. She was a 'witch' after all. What was strange was how they reacted the same way to each other. Clare was positive not a single word had been spoken since she first arrived. Shops were closed up left and right, even though noon was fast approaching. Homes had their windows crudely boarded up, some of the front lawns sported flower bed that were either wilting or outright dead.

Clare couldn't help but grimace. Tigio was a ghost town, one that just so happened to have people living in it. Even she herself felt inexplicably depressed simply from making a cursory glance around. Brushing that aside, Clare walked with even strides to the obvious town hall where her comrades would be waiting. No one was there to greet her this time. Clare wouldn't have been surprised if the town leader had left the dying village already.

She stopped before a large, wooden door that looked damp and rotted in place. Pushing it open, it made a loud and unpleasant whine. Clare visibly winced at the sound, waiting until it was fully open to step inside. The first thing she noticed was the darkness. Even with candlelight littering the walls, she could barely see her hand before her face as she walked across broken planks towards the metallic shine of three seated warrior's armor.

The door slammed shut behind her, pushed by a seemingly invisible force that Clare paid no mind to. One of the soldiers, whom by the nearby torch she could see had medium length, wavy hair held in low hanging pigtails, stood from her seat and gave a nod.

"Welcome, we've been waiting for you," she said, her voice soft and high-pitched. "I hope you had no problems traveling."

"It sure took you long enough to get here," another voice, one with a snide quality Clare took an immediate dislike to, drawled.

"Settle down now," the first voice admonished. "We have plenty of time to get this done."

The second voice scoffed, but said no more. Clare squinted, leaning in to get a better look, and catching sight of a girl with very short hair and a bored look on her face slouching against the hall with her head resting on her hands. She was looking far too at home here.

The final member of their team, who sat right beside the second soldier and closer to the wall, was another story entirely. She was curled up in her seat, her arms crossed over her chest and covered by the longest hair Clare had ever seen. As a small child, she'd almost been proud of her own hair's length, but this girl put her to shame and then some. Then Clare got a look at her face and almost had to do a double take.

It was highly unlikely that she wasn't just seeing things. In this bad lighting, it was a given that she'd see things incorrectly, but if Clare didn't know any better, she'd say this girl looked _scared_. Assuming her wide eyes with the tiny pupils and the gleaming sweat on her forehead and the shaking of her arms was not a figment of Clare's imagination, she was actually terrified right now.

Clare cast a glance at the soldier who had greeted her, but she was still watching her, either ignorant or uncaring of anything else. Finally, she turned away, walking to the center of the room and kneeling down in front of something black and square-shaped near the floor. Clare wondered what it was for a moment before a flame sparked and grew into a full fire. The pigtailed soldier straightened, now fully visible by the light of the fireplace.

"Now that we're all here, I think we should introduce ourselves and talk a little about our experience hunting awakened beings," she said. "My name is Flora, I'm currently ranked number 11, and I'll be heading this extermination. This will be my second."

She gestured to the rude girl, who snorted.

"Couldn't be bothered to send a single digit?" she muttered loudly. "Whatever. I'm Helen and I'm Number 22. It's my second too."

Flora looked to Clare next, who proceeded to speak.

"I'm am number 27," she announced. "My name is Clare. I've never hunted an awakened being before."

A pause followed, one that went on longer than it should have considering there was one more member of their party. In the greater light, Clare found that her earlier assumptions had been right. The final warrior was quite literally shaking in her boots. She wouldn't even look up at any of them, preferring instead to study the floor and her legs. Clare, unfortunately, wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Wow, what's your problem," Helen said with a sneer. "Don't tell me you're afraid of the Big Bad Awakened Being. Poor baby."

The girl edged away from her, looking up for the first time to reveal heavily lidded eyes and lips pursed so tightly they were hardly even there. Helen opened her mouth, possibly to have another laugh at her expense, but a quick and deadly glare from Flora put a stop to that.

"It's alright. Please tell us your name," she gently coaxed.

The girl glanced around, fast at Helen, then at Clare, then at Helen again, and finally at Flora. Her fingers laced together, held tight in her lap as her body tensed. She let out a hard, shaking breath and spoke.

"I-I- My name is- is Evadne. I've never hunted an awakened being before… and I'm number 47."

The second that number left Evadne's lips, Helen's jaw hit the floor. She was mercifully silent for a time, but then broke out into raucous laughter that made Evadne look close to tears, Flora rolling her eyes, and Clare inches away from reaching out and ripping Helen's voice box right out from her throat. Even worse, she was trying to talk through her laughter.

"Oh- Oh- Oh that's rich," Helen gasped out. "Out of everyone, they sent the lowest rank possible? That's hilarious! No wonder you're such a coward. I'd be shitting my pant too if I were you."

As she continued to laugh and Evadne struggled not to cry, Clare realized that she was not the only one whose nerves Helen was fast getting on. Flora was away from the fireplace and in front of Helen with three long strides. Getting up close, she was the picture of indifference on the outside, put one look at her eyes and one would know how she was truly feeling. Not even Helen was thick headed enough not to see it, as her guffaws slowly dying out indicated.

"Please refrain from such rudeness," Flora all but ordered. "We are all comrades and as such, we need to work as a team. Teamwork does not derive from taunting, teasing, or alienating each other."

Helen was momentarily stunned. The look on her face made Clare wonder if anyone had even spoken to her this way. She would be amazed if no one was at least thinking. It didn't last long anyway, Helen was on her feet with narrowed eyes with little time passing. Her fingers flexed, as if itching to wrap them around the hilt of her sword.

"Oh really?" she said, leaning in close and all but daring Flora to back away. "What are you going to do I don't stop? Fight me?"

Despite the obvious threat and Evadne's sniffling, Flora was unfazed.

"I would rather not," she said. "But if you continue to act up, I suppose I would have no choice. For this reason, I ask that you please stop."

Something different was in the air now, something dark. Clare watched Flora intently, feeling for any sort of spike in her yoki signature. It remained even at an average level, and she never moved so much as a thumb in the direction of her sword. Perhaps then, it was the intensity of her glare that made Helen fidget, cough several times and then sit back down grumbling to herself. Clare would never know, as when Flora turned to look at her, she was smiling pleasantly as if nothing had happened.

"If you are all ready, we should be going."

The sun was just starting to set as the group of four wandered into the surrounding forest. An initial feel for yoki energy turned up nothing, but that was to be expected. According to Flora, they would find signs of it's presence the further into the forest they got. Though she had the most experience out of all of them, Clare was still weary of her superior's reassurances. Wouldn't the creature do whatever it could to not be detected? Voicing these suspicions only earned Clare a knowing smile.

"They can be rather… cocky, let's say," Flora explained. "You'll understand what I mean soon enough."

No more words where exchanged between them. Flora, as the leader, walked two steps ahead of the rest. Evadne, her eyes now dry and her face blank, brought up the rear. This left Clare in the middle, side by side with Helen. It wasn't as bad as Clare feared; the girl hadn't said a word since Flora's thinly veiled threat. Whether or not she really would have acted on it, Clare honestly couldn't say. It occurred to her that she really didn't know anything about the other Organization members.

Well, aside from Hilary. Even then, all Clare really knew was that she desperately wanted to punch the woman in her smug little face.

* * *

The journey remained uneventful throughout dusk and into the night. Clare was watching the full moon, trying to judge the time by it's position, when she heard a shriek followed by a thud. Her head whipped around just as Helen let out a loud expletive from her new place on the ground. Evadne stood above her, shaking and still clutching the end of Helen's cape that she'd clearly used to pull the taller woman down.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Helen shouted.

Evadne visibly winced, but stood her ground and pointed an unsteady finger at the ground before them.

"You almost stepped on them," she whispered.

Clare blinked in confusion, and Helen must have had a similar reaction since she wasn't saying anything. Two pairs of eyes turned in the indicated direction, focusing through the darkness to find a tiny hill of dirt right in the middle of the path. What looked like hundreds of even smaller black dots scampered on, in and around it, some of them carrying bits of leaf and the like on there backs.

"Ants," Helen said, staring incredulously at Evadne. "You threw me on my ass because you were worried about a bunch of ants? _Are you kidding me?"_

Evadne bit her lip and hung her head. The force of Helen's glare looked enough to burn holes in her skull. The lower ranked soldier mumbled something unintelligible, one hand rubbing the opposite arm sheepishly. She slowly lifted her head.

"They're living creatures," she said, digging her feet into the ground as if psychically illustrating that she would stand by her actions. "It wouldn't be right to kill them."

This was not the correct answer as far as Helen was concerned. Teeth bared and snarling, she got to her feet and charged Evadne, who backed up several steps but didn't try to run. Helen grabbed her by the collar, forcing her close and shoving her enraged face in close.

"The next words out of your mouth had better be an apology," she seethed. "If not, I'll-"

**SCHWING**

Helen froze, her rage melting and giving way to shock and confusion. Clare watched as her eyes shifted to the side, tracing the sharp lines of the sword hovering bare millimeters above her shoulder and neck. Though Flora's face was still set with blankness, her eyes glowered fiercely at Helen and made even Clare feel a degree of fear.

"You'll what, number 22?" her voice was low. "I ask that you kindly put her down. I will _not_ have the same discussion with you twice."

Helen inhaled deeply through her nose. Her eyes found the sword again, then switched to Evadne. She stayed calculating her options for what seemed to be much longer than it actually was. The tension grew until, with a reverberating growl, she removed her hand and shoved Evadne away. This must have satisfied Flora, as she removed and replaced her sword in it's sheath. With a nod, she turned and marched with all the grace and superiority one would expect of a leader back to the front.

"Let's go," she said, not waiting for any sort of response before taking up an average pace.

The others were quick to follow, Helen stepping over the ant hill but kicking some dirt at it with her heel all the same. Evadne let out a squeak, but said and did nothing. Helen scoffed and shook her head before, unfortunately, turning to Clare.

"Can you _believe _her?" she hissed in her ear. "What, does she sympathize with ants because they're as weak as her or something? Geez, I knew the number 47 was going to be pathetic, but this is just _killing _me."

Clare didn't respond, hoping with little to back it up that Helen would get the message and leave her alone.

"She'd better stay out of the fight when we find this bastard. I'd rather not have to bury what's left of her when it's all over and done with."

Clare bit back a groan and inconspicuously walked faster. Within a minute, she was mercifully too far ahead of Helen for more chit-chatting and the peaceful atmosphere she'd previously enjoyed was restored.

At least until she felt a spike of yoki that was way too far off in the distance to belong to any of them. She wasn't the only one to immediately sense it either; Flora stopped dead in her tracks so suddenly that Clare almost ran into her. They looked out into the trees, seeing nothing but dense forest and an oddly still owl perched on a high tree branch.

Nevertheless, the yoki they all felt was getting stronger. Clare's fingers clenched around air as she realized that it was likely coming towards them. Beside her, Flora already had her sword out and ready.

"Might want to stand back," she heard Helen mutter snidely, likely at Evadne. "Unless you're going to try and stop us because _it's a living creature_."

Either her mocking didn't bother Evadne, or the low ranked warrior was too ashamed and embarrassed to answer. No more was said and three more swords were drawn. Clare gripped the hilt tight, it's flat surface cool to the touch. She lowered into a fighting stance, so focused on the trees and growing yoki that she didn't bother looking around to see if the others had done the same.

After another minute, Clare became aware of something else: footsteps, footsteps that increased in volume along with the yoki signature. Someone sucked in a breath, and another someone shushed them. There was movement out the corner of Clare's eye, but all she could see was the very tip of a sword just at her eye level.

"Get ready," Flora hissed.

The words registered in Clare's mind, but she offered no acknowledgement. She turned her head ever so slightly, allowing her to better hear the crackling leaves and twigs snapping. A flock of birds took off into the sky, cawing loudly, their wings beating the air. The noise did barely affected Clare's enhanced hearing. She easily tuned them out and focused on the important, the slow and steady thuds of two footfalls at a time.

This was it.

She heard the thuds again, and then again. The yoki was large, but nothing special. Again, and again, and again.

It stopped.

Clare blinked twice, her lips falling into a frown. The yoki hadn't changed, but it appeared the Awakened Being had… stopped moving?

In her confusion, Clare's sword arm slumped a tiny bit. Helen's face popped into her vision as the girl leaned over to address Flora. She looked just as, if not more, confused by this odd occurrence as Clare was. Helen's mouth had barely opened, not a single word getting out, before Flora jumped in front of them, her sword swinging.

"GET BACK!" she shouted, but she was drowned out by the monstrous roar accompanying a massive black shape as it leaped out of the trees and into the air.

It descended on Flora, and her sword zipped through the air, just barely missing it's mark. She leaped out of the way, avoiding the creature's foot about crush her head into the dirt. Clare staggered back, keeping her sword up and her eyes on the beast. It was at lest twelve feet tall, it's bug like face sported beady red eyes and a gaping mandible that looked far too big for the rest of the head. It's body was covered in a stone-like armor, white all over, but with an odd black spot near the left pectoral, and had a deceptively lanky build. By contrast, it's legs were massively and thick with hard muscle. In place of arms were a multitude of tentacles that waved wildly in the air, smacking into trees with abandon. One of the larger ones fell at Helen's feet, making her swear loudly.

"Alright, let's get this thing!" she shouted.

Like a bolt of lightning, she went from ten feet away to right in front of the beast. Her sword came down hard on it's torso, creating a long scratch and making it howl in rage, but doing little else. Helen clicked her tongue as she skidded back onto the ground.

"Hmph, I'll get him," she grumbled, readying her sword for a second go.

"Not like that, you won't," Flora said before Helen could make a move. "All you accomplished was to make it angry."

"At least I'm doing something," Helen cried, glowering at Flora as if they were just taking a relaxing stroll and not trying to defeat a ravenous monster that wanted to kill and eat them. "Can't say that same for some of us!"

Helen didn't say any names or make any gesture, but it was clear to all of them, especially the shivering number 47, who she was referring to. Flora raised an eyebrow.

"If I recall, you're the one who didn't want her to help," she said matter-of-factly.

The awakened being roared again, one tentacle sailing in their direction, cutting down everything in it's path. Flora and Helen effortlessly jumped into the air, narrowly missing the blow. Two swords flew down, but Flora's was faster. It met with the soft appendage and cut deep, sliding all the way through with little difficulty. As the beast screamed in agony, the severed tentacle dropped into the dirt at Clare and Evadne's feet. The latter let out a squeak and backed away, the former was unfazed and ready for some action of her own.

Clare ignored Helen and Flora as they tangled with a few more waving tentacles. She eyed the Awakened Being's exposed chest, bringing her sword to the ready and breaking into a run. She rammed the blade in, stabbing at it's flat stomach. Unfortunately, the armored skin was as tough as it looked. The sword went in barely a fraction of an inch, and the backlash was so intense, it almost made Clare lose her grip and fall backwards. Pulling away, she stepped back, and was amazed to see that the beast hadn't so much as looked in her direction. All it's attention was on Helen and Flora. And on screaming incoherently, it seemed.

"Hungry…" it rumbled. "I need food. So hungry. HUNGRY! GIVE ME FOOD!"

'_It can't feel any attacks to the mid-section?' _Clare wondered. _'But cutting off a tentacle hurt it.'_

"Keep going for the tentacles," she called to Helen when the higher ranked warrior was close enough. "They're a weak spot."

"Thanks for the heads-up," Helen sneered, dodging another sloppy attack and swinging uselessly as the tentacle sailed over the monster's head.

"I NEED FOOD!"

"Then eat this!" Helen screamed, running in again and skewering the nearest tentacle. With a few hard tugs, she ripped the blade back out vertically, ripping the quivering thing right down the middle and spewing blood every wear. A fair amount found it's way on Clare's boots, and she wrinkled her nose at the putrid smell before bring down her own sword to finish the job.

By now, all but three tentacles had been dispatched, and the ones that remained were spinning and slamming into the ground harder than ever. The awakened being continued screaming nonsense. Clare was beginning to wonder, with the far off look in it's bugged out gold eyes, if the creature was even fully aware that it was in a fight. She parried to the right, avoiding yet another near fatal hit.

"Look out!"

Clare's head snapped to the side. She found an irate Helen being dragged away as a massive tentacle slammed into the ground where she'd been standing. Evadne, her unlikely savior, raised her sword for the very first time and sliced off close to half of the tentacle. A swift follow up move courtesy of Flora took care of the rest. The creature's agonized screams mixed with it's cries for food as Clare took out one more of it's last two appendages. And after dusting herself of and muttering something at Evadne that may or may not have been a thank you, Helen had the honor of removing the final one.

When it was piled on top of the rest, Helen landed on her feet beside Flora, swinging her sword up onto her shoulder and grinning cockily.

"This is almost too easy," she said, her laughter barely held in.

The armless creature had stopped moving, and now only issued inhuman grunts as it wiggled to and froe uselessly.

"Should we finish it off now?" Evadne meekly piped up.

Helen snorted at her. "So you do want to kill it, huh? Is it only bugs that get your sympathy."

Evadne looked away, wrapping her free hand around her torso defensively.

"Ants don't harm anyone, it's not right to hurt them," she said. "Yoma and Awakened Beings hurt and destroy everyday. They're bad, so they should be killed."

Clare blinked, furrowing her brow at Evadne while the girl nodded and gave her sword a few practice swings. How odd that someone as over sensitive as her could speak so nonchalantly about killing. Perhaps there was hope for this low ranker after all.

She turned back to Flora, ready to receive instructions on how to proceed from here. They still had no idea how to penetrate the awakened being's armor, but at least without the tentacles distracting them, they'd be able to stop and think. Then she caught sight of something strange, something out the corner of her eye where the monster was just barely visible. Switching her focus, Clare instinctively took a fighting stance. It was the best thing she could have done, as it appeared their enemy wasn't finished yet.

"What the hell is it doing?" Helen incredulously asked.

The awakened being's writhing had drastically grown in it's rapidity. The useless stumps that covered it's body waved around with it. They flip-flopped back and forth and a speedy rate, and as Clare follow their movements, she realized with a growing dread that they were changing shape.

They were growing _longer_.

"Oh dammit," she whispered, narrowing her eyes.

Her companions, one in particular, where a lot more vocal with their reactions to this new development.

"It REGENERATES?" Helen shouted. "You've got to be kidding me! Now what the hell do we do?"

Flora, calm as she'd ever been, brought a hand up to her chin. Her thumb brushed against her lower lip as she looked thoughtfully down at the ground.

"This presents trouble," she murmured. "Even if we remove the tentacles a second time, it'll likely just re-grow them again. I suppose they really weren't a weak spot. This really is troubling."

Clare found herself rapidly going back and forth between staring at the monster and at Flora. Her leader hadn't made a move yet, and she was still muttering to herself, now so low that Clare could no longer hear her. She walked closer to the higher ranked warrior, coming up right beside her.

"Any ideas?" she asked, though the answer was painfully obvious.

"We need to find it's weak point," Flora answered, this time in a normal speaking voice that allowed everyone to hear her.

Like a dam bursting, these words broke whatever was holding Helen back from recklessly charging in. She proceeded to do just that, screaming and swinging her sword at the rock solid armor. Scratches were gathering one by one, Helen even managed to prevent a few growing tentacles from reaching 'maturity.' Despite this, the monster barely reacted to her. Clare had to wonder if it even realized it was being attacked. Her question was answer when something gravely familiar appeared from behind the monster's back and slowly crept towards Helen. Clare's eyes widened, it appeared the creature had finally been able to grow back one of it's weapons. Helen was completely oblivious to it.

"Helen," Flora called out. "Helen move!"

The tentacle snapped into action immediately. Helen had no time to react before it was wrapping around her throat and squeezing tight. She gasped, her eyes bugging out as the monster raised her into the air and threw with all it's might. Helen crashed into several trees on her way to the ground. All of them small enough to be uprooted and leave her trapped in a tangled mess of leaves and branches. Flora clicked her tongue.

"That's what you get for not paying attention," she muttered, then pointed at Evadne. "Go help her."

"Oh, yes ma'am," Evadne said with a salute.

While she ran over to do her job, Flora sighed and looked again at Clare.

"There has to be a vulnerable point," she said. "Did you notice anything while fighting it?"

Clare lowered her gaze, racking her brain for any sort of answer. She went over all her actions since the battle started, as well as the others. Helen, of course, had been the first to charge in getting one good hit on it's armor, but not actually damaging it. That's when the tentacles came out to play, and from there they'd gotten rid of each one of them thinking it would be enough. Clare shut her eyes tight, struggling to think because she just knew she was missing something. Something had happened that could provide a clue.

'Come on, what is it?' she mentally raged. 'We've tried going for the armor, but it never reacts to those hits. Helen tried so many times and… wait.'

Clare came back to reality like someone had smacked her on the head. She shot back to attention, her hard gaze finding the creature. Her specific subject of interest was the armor, and the little black hole that rested almost invisibly on it. An ugly scratch ran through it like a head impaled on a stake.

That was the first place any of them had hit it, and unlike the other times they went for the torso, it had felt pain. Clare extending one finger, aiming for the hole like she was about to stick it in.

"There," she said. "Right there, that little hole in the chest. See it?"

Flora followed the guiding finger and then gave a curt nod.

"You think it's a weak spot?"

"I'm not sure," Clare admitted. "I just now that it wasn't happy when Helen almost hit it."

A low hum echoed from Flora's throat as she drummed her fingers against the hilt. Her head bobbed back and forth slowly, so that Clare wasn't sure if she was agree with her or not. Then, much to Clare's bewilderment, Flora returned her sword to it's sheath.

"Alright, it's worth a try," she said. "If I provide you a distraction, can you get a clean hit?"

Clare stared at her, not sure what to make of her question coupled with her essentially disarming herself a moment earlier. It was strange, but Clare found that she couldn't be too frustrated with her captain. In the short time since they had met, Flora had struck her as a capable person who knew her limits and knew when to be serious. There must have been a logical explanation for her actions.

"I think I can," she answered. "But how are you going to distract it?"

Flora gave a small smile, one that spoke volumes louder than what she said next.

"I have something special that I've been working on. Now might be a good time to test it out."

She was gone in an instant, leaving a trail of dust and a stunned Clare in her wake. She had not a moment to process this before the awakened being's yoki exploded, a scream ripping out of his throat simultaneously.

"FEED MEEEEEE!"

The tentacles shot out, and Clare jumped out of the way. The tips came mere millimeters away from her metallic shoes and instead flailed as Clare increased the distance between them. Her eyes remained on that hole, not wanting to lose track of it for even a second.

"Damn," she said, aiming her sword at the hole. "Where are you, Flora?"

Her comrade's yoki was nowhere to be found. Helen's and Evadne's she found easily, even with the overwhelming waves the awakened being sent out. They were together and off on the side, though Clare imagined if Helen were conscious, she'd be wanting to get back into the fight as soon as possible. Hopefully, this would be over before that could happen, but where on earth had Flora gone?

Something ignited in the air, and Clare gasped as the sought after yoki signature returned with a vengeance. Her jaw fell open, and she almost didn't believe what she was seeing, but there she was.

Flora stood, calm and at the ready, atop the creature's swollen head. It appeared that she was going unnoticed, as the monster paid her no mind and screamed louder, begging to be fed. Looking closer, Clare saw that Flora's eyes were closed, but that meant nothing when the girl gripped her sword and called out.

"Get ready, Clare!"

"What are you doing?"

Flora didn't answer, but there was no need. At the moment, Clare felt a massive burst in her yoki energy, so much so that it was almost on par with the awakened being, and came dangerously close to overloading Clare's senses. She did feel a headache coming on and winced at the growing pain. Whatever Flora was doing, it created huge gashes all over the beast's body. More than one grazed the target hole, blowing Flora's cover. The awakened being howled in pain and fury, changing it's goal from finding food, to crushing whatever it was that had done this to it. All thoughts of the other three warriors were gone, it seemed. The monster now only cared about removing Flora.

And it was through this action that the hole was left completely unguarded.

Clare hesitated not a second longer. This was her chance and she was seizing it by the throat. Her speed was inhumanly, her drive even moreso. Clare reared back her sword arm, the hole encompassing her entire vision. She let out a grunt as her arm snapped forward, plunging her sword straight through the fleshy patch of black like it was a bulls eye.

Contrary to her expectation of more screaming, this time in defeat, followed by the awakened being slumping over dead, all sounds stopped in an instant. Clare was momentarily afraid that she had been wrong, and that all she'd accomplished was to get herself and Flora killed. One by one, the tentacles dropped to it's sides, twitching but otherwise unmoving. The beast swayed, leaning more towards the front and finally falling just as Clare hopped out of the way. Flora stepped off the beast head with the grace of a ballroom dancer, her sword still sheathed and by all accounts unused.

"Thank goodness that's over," Flora remarked, sliding a slimy tentacle out of her path with her shoe. "And I'm glad to see my technique was effective."

Clare nodded, not tearing her eyes away from her newest kill. This didn't go unnoticed.

"Oh yes, this was your first time dealing with an awakened being. I'd almost forgotten."

Flora would receive no answer, as Clare was even more unwilling to make chit-chat than even before. She didn't know what she should be feeling right now: accomplishment, relief, joy? Clare lightly touched her stomach, it was calm as ever, even with the rising stench of the carcass. She realized that she felt nothing, not even a hint of satisfaction. There was no regret either, of course. This thing was a monster and it had to be treated as such. Now it was dead, and the world would go on turning without it. This was just another day for the Silver-Eyed Witches.

Clare inhaled deeply, then turned to Flora. There were more pressing matter that warrented discussion now that the mission was complete.

"What exactly was that technique?" she asked.

The smile Flora wore was knowing, and kind of infuriating. Clare clenched a fist, if there was one thing she hated, it was smug self-importance. She didn't want to think of Flora that way, as the woman had been nothing but friendly and polite this entire thing, unlike some people Clare could mention.

'Well, nobody's perfect,' the little voice in her head joked. It went unappreciated.

"Truthfully, I don't have a name for it yet," Flora said, her sword handle glittering in the sunlight. "I'll think of one eventually, after I've perfected it. There's still some polishing to do, you see." Her smile widened. "Maybe I'll show you how it works someday."

With that, Flora turned on a heel and announced to the others that it was time to go. Evadne was the first to follow, lightly pulling at Helen's arm, prompting her to come as well. Clare moved at her own time, first taking one last look at the beast and committing the sight of it's broken body to memory. She wouldn't want to forget this any time soon, and her contentment with the knowledge that she'd cleared another hurdle in working to achieve her goal would make the trip home a far faster and much more enjoyable experience.

"I can't believe you guys killed it without me!" Helen whined. "I almost had him, you know!"

Clare bit back a groan.

* * *

"So," Elgiz slid up beside the hooded Dae like the unpleasant snake he was. "The little experiment had her first hunt today. Aren't you excited?"

"If you're just going to bother me, go find something else to do, Elgiz."

Dae's curt response was answered in turn by a low clicking of Elgiz's tongue and a shake of his head.

"That's not really ni-ice," the wild looking man said.

Dae grunted and turned away, forcing himself to focus on the letter he was composing and not to give the annoying doctor the time of day. This was easier said than done.

"I just read Rubel's report too. Clare did a wonderful job dealing the final blow. I couldn't be more proud, she's my creation you know."

"Yes, I know," Dae droned. "You're gone on about her enough times already."

"Well why not?" Elgiz sounded affronted now, an oddity for his usual insane glee. "She's like my very own daughter, one of the family! Family's the most important thing after all. Don't you know that?"

He would not receive another answer, as Dae decided enough was enough and grabbed up his pens and parchment. Elgiz waved goodbye as his colleague left, slamming the door hard behind him. He then busied himself with humming a happy song mostly reserved for children, and drew some equations on the chalkboard with unheard of speed and accuracy. He, and Dae before him, was unaware of the pair of eyes on him, watching his every more and hearing his every word.

"I'm so proud, I'm so proud, I'm so proud of my smart and strong little Clare!" he sang, adding little dance moves here and there.

Hilary made a face, disgust worn plainly on her sleeve. She was already unsure of how to take what she'd just overheard, whether to be happy or annoyed by it. This was helping only to make her feel sick.

She was gone before Elgiz's dance called for him to do a spin, leaving him to face the slightly ajar opposite side door.

* * *

**A/N: That was the longest fight scene I've ever written. I was a little unsure, but all in all, I think it turned out okay.**


End file.
